THE Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI) Technical Working Group (TWG), in cooperation with the US Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) and implementing partner MetroStar Systems, concluded its three-day training and launch of the Caribbean Police Academy Regional Training Initiative at the Guyana Police Force Officers Training Centre on Thursday. United States Ambassador Perry Holloway attended the closing ceremony and officially handed over training equipment valued over US$23,000 to Police Commissioner Seelall Persaud.
Ambassador Holloway pledged his government’s “continued support for similar-type activities that could ultimately lead to enhancing the security of Guyana and other Caribbean nations.”
The Caribbean Police Academy Regional Training Initiative combines audiovisual hardware, a secure Learning Management System (LMS) called CBSI-Connect, and brings together police academies from countries throughout the Caribbean.
The equipment makes it possible to collaborate and share training in a virtually secure environment built exclusively for Caribbean law-enforcement officials, as well as the ability to have virtual meetings.
Use of the equipment and the advanced technology also allows greater communication among participating countries to confront the many security challenges in the Region, including narcotics-trafficking, gang violence, and cross-border criminality.
Current, participating countries are Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, Suriname, St Kitts and Nevis, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Grenada, The Bahamas, The Dominican Republic and Guyana.
This programme, funded through the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI), helps strengthen capacity and provide practical skills to relevant security officials working in law enforcement. Through such CBSI partnerships, the United States and Guyana seek to enhance the bilateral security relationship to create a partnership to combat transnational crime, develop strong security institutions in Guyana, and advance the safety and security of the citizens of Guyana.