Trinidad and Tobago’s Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley has devoted himself to eliminating any possibility that criminals will not discover any refuge in the Caribbean to conduct their wicked and unlawful actions.
Dr Rowley, who oversees national security in Caricom’s quasi-cabinet, made this commitment while speaking at the commencement of Caricom’s second regional symposium on violence as a public health concern in Georgetown, Guyana on November 22.
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He reminded attendees of the initial symposium, which took place last April in Port of Spain.
Rowley reiterated that crime and violence pose a significant danger to the region’s stability and the safety of its inhabitants.
“We resolved to take decisive action to turn the tide of violence that was reaching our shores.”
Although he hoped to confirm that this tendency had been reversed, Rowley stated, “Unfortunately the facts are that we still are still being assailed by a rising tide of criminal conduct, the influx of firearms and in recent times of organized criminal conduct penetrating our region from as far away as Asia and of course, South America.”
However, he continued, Caricom leaders are confident that by addressing crime and violence as a public health matter, “We believe we will approach this issue in a correct and sustainable way..”
Since the last symposia, a lot of progress has been achieved, Rowley said.
Because of these developments, he claimed, “There are no secure havens in any of our Caribbean nations.”
Rowley informed participants that legislation to enable the harmonization of laws across Caricom to finalize the template legislation for the Caricom Arrest Warrant Treaty has been successfully completed.
The aim of the treaty is to establish, within Caricom, a system for arresting and extraditing individuals for the sake of criminal prosecution for relevant offenses; or executing a custodial sentence or stricter punishment when individuals have fled justice after being convicted of or sentenced for an applicable offense.
Rowley noted that once this legislation is enforced, criminal entities in the Caribbean will understand that in “every Caricom territory, the law applies to them equally, as soon as we implement the laws, with respect to warrants for their restraint, apprehension, in anticipation of successful prosecution.”
He said that significant work has been made on laws pertaining to enhanced passenger information, which would improve regional law enforcement organizations’ ability to collaborate across borders.
Caricom’s Implementation Agency for Crime & Security (IMPACS), Rowley continued, has established a Caribbean gang database to assist member states in addressing threats posed by criminal gangs within their territories.
He mentioned that IMPACS continues to collaborate with regional law enforcement agencies to address vulnerabilities where crime, such as corrupt and illicit financing, may take place.
Rowley expressed his satisfaction that since the first Caricom crime symposium, there has been cooperation from the US, through initiatives within its own borders, to diminish the flow of illegal firearms into the region.
In order to trace the passage of these weapons, he pointed out that Caricom territories had also enhanced their ballistic monitoring capabilities.
Rowley further expressed his approval that the enhancement of intelligence-sharing across borders in the Caribbean has allowed law enforcement “to investigate, apprehend and prosecute criminal actors with greater efficiency.”
He emphasized the crucial role of regional police forces noting, “Our police management leadership needs to collaborate and co-operate across our Caribbean territories, identifying known bad actors before they execute their plan against us so that the police can have a more effective response against those who chose crime as a way of life and business for profit.”
Rowley remarked that Caricom leaders are optimistic that as these initiatives are implemented and provide law enforcement with effective tools to combat crime, citizens throughout the Caribbean will comprehend the role they must assume for these efforts to succeed.
“The more the populace understands, the more vigilant they become.”
