Canada aiding the region in crime fight

SECURITY issues in the Caribbean are of great concern to Canada.

As such, High Commissioner of Canada, His Excellency Richard Hanley, says his government has been working diligently over the last few years on the issue of Caribbean security and has been working hard to aid the region in combating transnational organised crime.

The High Commissioner’s comments on the matter came recently as he delivered remarks at the Graduation Ceremony for 30 participants of the Regional Security System’s Crime Scene First Responder Course, at the Paragon Base in Christ Church, Barbados.

“The issue of security in the Caribbean is of concern to all of us. Canada places a high priority on improving security in the Caribbean as part of its engagement in the Americas. We believe that to effectively address rising crime and violence associated with drug trafficking and with other activities of organised crime, all factors need to be addressed, including money laundering, corruption and impunity,” the High Commissioner pointed out.

“One of Canada’s key programming units to combat transnational organised crime in the Caribbean is its Anti-Crime Capacity Building Programme, which we call ACCBP. Since 2009, the programme has contributed $12 million to the Caribbean Security programme,” Hanley added.

High Commissioner Hanley noted that as part of the ACCBP Project designed for the region, a Regional Integrated Ballistic Identification Network (RIBIN) is to be established, among CARICOM members.

“In Jamaica, the programme has provided training and polygraph operation and is assisting in the creation of a Polygraph Regional Centre of excellence,” he said.

“This project will increase Jamaican capacity to investigate corruption, as well as to provide training and certification for other Caribbean states. The ACCBP is supporting police professionalisation in Turks and Caicos and justice sector reform in Trinidad and Tobago. The ACCBP also contributes to several international organisations to build regional capacity to combat transnational organised crime,” he added.

Furthermore, “The programme supports several projects focused on illicit drugs in the Caribbean, implemented by the Organisation of American States and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime. Through Interpol, the programme has supported projected development and enforcement capabilities to dismantle drug trafficking organisations and stop illicit financial flows,” the High Commissioner revealed.

Hanley further stated that when the Regional Security System (RSS) Police Training Institute, which is based in Barbados, was formed in the October 2011 through the ACCBP, Canada became its main donor with financial support for three years’ programming, totalling Canadian $1.2 million, and with in-kind support from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

“Canada believes that supporting the work of the RSS is an important element of our engagement in the region. Canada is committed to working with partners towards a more prosperous, secure and democratic hemisphere. The RSS Training Institute provides an excellent means of achieving these goals,” he concluded. (RSM)