Greater levels of cooperation among policymakers and those responsible for implementation is the ammunition needed to battle crime affecting the region.
Attorney General Adriel Brathwaite made a call for cooperation and unity among regional partners, while addressing the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative???s (CBSI) Technical Working Group on Law Enforcement Matters at their two-day meeting at the Accra Beach Resort and Spa today.
???As a region, none of us individually has the resources that it will take to deal with these matters, and it is therefore important for us to get together like this, from time to time, and sit down as regional partners to discuss what we are doing individually and collectively,??? he said.
Noting that the CBSI had pledged $260 million to assist with various aspects of the crime fight in the region, the Attorney General noted that the onus was now on all regional partners to ensure that they were better off as a result of the US intervention.
Mr. Brathwaite pointed out that countries in the region needed to pay attention to the issues of trafficking in persons and narcotics.
???Trafficking is an area that I am very passionate about. As a region???we should accept our responsibility to ensure that we do all that is possible to remove trafficking from these shores. [But] as a region we have never sat down and discussed how we can tackle this issue collectively,??? he noted.
He suggested that there be greater collaboration between policymakers and those on the ground in the development of effective policies for the crime fight.
???From time to time, we really need as policymakers to sit down with you on the ground and ensure that the policies that we create are the most effective policies to accomplish what we are trying to accomplish in terms of reduction of crime in the region,??? he said.
The Minister stressed that if all involved had a similar passion for various aspects of crime intervention, then the region ???would be much better off???.
CBSI is built on the principles of partnership, cooperation and dialogue. It is a joint partnership with areas of focus that include building citizen security and reducing illicit trafficking.
Under the CBSI, the US Government makes contributions in the form of training, technical assistance and equipment.
julia.rawlins-bentham@barbados.gov.bb