Guyana’s Police Commissioner, Henry Greene, at the centre, sharing a light moment with, from left, Bermuda Police Commissioner, George Jackson, Anguillan Commissioner, Keithley Benjamin, ACCP President and Barbados Commissioner, Darwin Dottin and standing to his left is Bahamas Police Commissioner, Reginald Ferguson.

Dottin noted that the U.S. premiere law enforcement agency, which was represented at the conference, provided invaluable input at the various sessions. He added that resources for training that are available within the region will be utilised as well.

“In order to deal with crime, to deal with violence, police forces need to be prepared, they need to be resourced, they need to have the capacity to look at these matters,” he said.

Another agency that has pledged its support to assist the region with the training of its officers is the National Organisation of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE) and Commissioner Dottin stated that advantage will be taken of these training opportunities.

He said that the forensic capabilities of regional forces were also discussed and it was the general opinion of the Commissioners that the use of those that are presently operating in the region needs to rationalised so as to get the maximum from them.

Referring to the present homicide rate, Dottin stated that the situation as it is now in some member states is unacceptable.

Mentioning a meeting held in Guyana last year to tackle the crime situation and the establishment of a plan of action, he noted that during this conference, each Commissioner provided a report of the situation within his respective jurisdiction since the plan was promulgated.

Some of the reports were quite informative and in some countries the homicide rate, as reported, was drastically reduced, although some problems remain, he observed.

Speaking on the issue of gang violence, which Caricom Assistant Secretary General Dr. Edward Greene mentioned in his speech at the opening ceremony of the conference, and which he had said is eroding the very fabric of the Caribbean society, Dottin pointed out that the ACCP had resolved to have more community-based interventions to deal with this chronic problem.

He added that a plan of action will be drafted, which the Caricom Secretariat will assist with, and subsequently circulated to all ACCP member states for possible use in addressing this issue.

Domestic violence was also discussed at the forum with a number of suggestions from the Commissioners as well as a comprehensive presentation by Dr. Janice Jackson who also made a number of recommendations to tackle this scourge.

The illegal use of firearms came in for intense discussion too.
Dottin noted that the use and the trafficking of the these weapons is very worrying, even instilling fear in many in the region, pointing to the recent signing of the memorandum of understanding between the United States and most ACCP member states and which Guyana signed on to earlier this week.