Regional efforts to address crime and promote the rehabilitation of offenders will receive a boost, next week, with the launch of the Caribbean Association of Probation and Parole (CAPP), in Barbados.
On Monday, September 9, and Tuesday, September 10, 20 delegates from Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Grenada, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, the Turks & Caicos and Trinidad & Tobago, will meet with their local counterparts at the Sagicor Cave Hill School of Business and Management, Cave Hill, St. Michael. The event will begin at 9:00 a.m. on both days.
The purpose of the CAPP is to serve as a platform for coordination, collaboration, and capacity-building among its member countries. The regional association is also expected to facilitate the development and implementation of standardised practices, advocacy for policy reforms, and resource mobilisation for probation services.
Representatives from the Barbados Probation Department’s key stakeholder agencies will also attend the two-day event. They include members of the Judiciary and the legal fraternity; the Government Industrial School, the Barbados Prison Service, The Barbados Police Service, the Child Care Board, the National Council on Substance Abuse, OAS/CICAD, the Maria Holder Trust and UNICEF.
Other stakeholders slated to participate are the Criminal Justice Research and Planning Unit, Drug Education and Counselling Services, UNDP Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, Sandy Lane Charitable Trust, the Division of Youth Affairs, the Ministry of Industry, Innovation, Science and Technology, The University of the West Indies (UWI), Cave Hill Campus and Scotiabank.
Monday’s opening ceremony will feature a keynote address by Professor of Management and Organisational Behaviour at The University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, Dwayne Devonish. That day’s agenda will also include a panel discussion entitled: “Challenges and Opportunities in Probation Parole”, led by representatives from Anguilla, Jamaica and The Bahamas.
On Tuesday, September 10, Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions, Alliston Seale will be the featured speaker. The day’s agenda will also include a panel discussion on “Innovations in Probation and Parole”, led by participants from St. Lucia, Trinidad & Tobago and Turks & Caicos.
The event will close with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding among member countries.