Professional Caribbean police officers believe that serious social problems are propelling crime in the region. Their police forces need to be reformed if they are to confront the new challenges. But will they be able to persuade the political policy-makers to put greater effort into crime prevention?

The main topic at the recent 24th annual conference of the Association of Caribbean Commissioners of Police in Georgetown earlier this month was the call for fresh approaches to dealing not only with violent crime but, more so, with the causes of crime. The commissioners, representing 20 mainly Anglophone Caribbean countries, met under the theme “Police Reform: An Imperative for Quality Service.” But how much reform do they hope to achieve?

The Association was established on August 20, 1987 in Castries, St Lucia. It now sees itself as the principal regional organisation to promote collaboration and cooperation in the development and implementation of policing strategies, systems and procedures. It also aims to promote the professional development and technical skills development of police officers and to take pro-active measures to prevent crime and improve police community relations. But was the conference just another talk shop or can the Association effect real change?

Challenge of
criminal violence

In examining the phenomenal surge in gang violence, the conference learnt about the deleterious effects that poor parenting skills, incomplete schooling and early access to firearms can have on young people. For these complex reasons, therefore, it was felt that law enforcement could not be separated from social conditions in communities. Governmental and law enforcement agencies and non-governmental organisations needed to adopt an approach to deal with the very serious social problems since, it was felt, a strict law enforcement approach alone was unlikely to succeed. Forceful measures by the security forces would be reciprocated by forceful responses by the criminals, triggering a cycle of violence.

Social interventions were needed in those communities that are spawning the growth of gangs and criminal violence. And, to make matters worse, the current worldwide economic crisis has started to create havoc in the small economies of the region. As a result, it was anticipated that criminal activities would increase as more and more youths become involved in the lucrative drug trade which is fuelling gang violence.

Gang violence has presented a major challenge to police departments across the region, with Jamaica and Trinidad feeling the brunt of its impact as their homicide rates soar. The conference heard various presentations from representatives of the USA’s Drug Enforcement Administration; the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the Inter-American Development Bank, and a community organiser of Trinidad and Tobago. The IDB representative − whose interest in crime stems from the fact that it impacts negatively on the development of Caribbean people − presented an analysis of gang violence.

All of these presentations enabled the commissioners to isolate the risk factors both at the personal and community levels that drive gang-related crime and violence. At the same time, they were able to examine some of the successful intervention programmes at the ‘national’ level, particularly in Trinidad and Jamaica.  Domestic violence was addressed as well in a very comprehensive presentation that highlighted the societal dynamics that propel that crime.

The conference comprehensively considered illegal firearms, noting the recent signing of the agreement between the USA and several Caribbean countries which allowed the latter access to the internet-based, USA-owned, weapon-tracing electronic system called e-Trace. The commissioners also agreed that there should be greater collaboration in fighting drugs by proposing meetings of heads of drug enforcement units twice yearly to share intelligence and data.

Regional responses

The dilemma facing the conference and the association was evident in the different approaches to public safety taken by Caricom Assistant Secretary-General Dr Edward Greene, on the one hand and President Bharrat Jagdeo, on the other.

Pointing out, correctly, that “the situation is compounded by the fact that Caribbean countries are sandwiched between the major drug producing countries in the South and the largest markets in the North,” Greene acknowledged that there was an escalation in crime. He agreed that it was linked to drugs and illicit firearms which are undermining the social fabric of Caribbean societies, increasing risk behaviours among youths, corrupting public morals, destabilising economies and demoralising the environment in which ordinary Caribbean people exist through fear for their lives and livelihood.

He advocated a new approach to partnerships between the police and other stakeholders in government service, private sector, civil society, schools, youth movements and faith-based organisations. He said, “Herein lies a useful focal point to provide the empirical information to guide, monitor and evaluate the impact of police reform programmes,” suggesting that the bases of police reform rest with the creation of viable networks around common goals and practices.

Greene called for security forces to move away from brute-force tactics, pointing out that the Association could contribute by establishing protocols and standards for implementing requirements in the areas that form part of the “structure of police reform, intended to combine appropriate punishment with a formula for rehabilitation of those who commit crimes and reintegrating them into society, as worthwhile citizens.”

Greene argued that it was increasingly being recognised that “the key to sustainable programme rests with the construction and implementation of crime prevention strategies.” Accordingly, the police forces that provide law enforcement, and research centres that provide analysis of trends and guidelines for behaviour change, needed to collaborate. To make his point, he quoted part of a Stabroek News editorial which, he said, aptly articulated what needed to be done in police reform:

The events of the past decade have made it clear that the brute-force tactic of sending out hunting parties to shoot bandits has not eradicated those transnational crimes which keep pumping guns, drugs, dirty money and criminal violence into the country.  Systematic police reform − that emphasises crime intelligence and human security − is necessary if the country is to enjoy a sustained era of public safety and economic stability. Only a transformed security environment will attract foreign investment and persuade local talent to remain in the country.

Greene’s essential point was that, in addition to the obvious requirement to conduct offensive operations, there was also a need to determine causation if long-term solutions were to be applied. This suggested an understanding of the social factors at the root of gangs and violent crime. In this regard, he seemed to have been supported by Darwin Dottin − the Barbados Commissioner of Police who is also President of the Association of Caribbean Commissioners of Police − who said:

As police organisations we are not fighting a war against our citizens … even though they are provoked, in most cases police officers are working in a conflictual position… we think that their training is as such that they would be able to deal with those persons with whom they come into contact in a respectful manner.

President Jagdeo, on the other hand, seemed to express little confidence in these methods. He made two points. First, he asserted that:

Crime is now more transnational. It is a different kind of crime. It is based on a flow of guns, a flow of drugs through our region and, therefore, to address that domestic action alone, as important as it is, will not be sufficient. We need an agreement, a multilateral agreement reflective of this challenge…one which is a true partnership of equals…the asymmetrical relationship that obtains will not and cannot work.”

The President’s second point was to call on policy-makers to be unambiguous about their support for the security forces expressing the opinion that “the scale is tilted more in favour of the perpetrators.” Highlighting some of the flaws in the relationship between the developed countries and the Caribbean Community he expressed concern that it is often uneven, continuing:
These organisations that say they promote human rights, they have to understand that when society’s interest, people’s interest have been challenged; when you have psychopaths slaughtering people, then you need brute force. When you have someone shooting at you with AK-47s you need to send out the brute force AK-47s to get back at them. You can’t go there and smile and shake hands and negotiate, welcome them to the fold; they are not going to come.

This verbal duel between one regional civil servant and one regional policy-maker might not be typical. Nevertheless, it leaves more questions than answers about the direction that police reform should take now that the conference is over.  How are police forces expected to be resourced in order to deal with the mounting problems in crime and security? Moreover, how are officers to be trained to perform in the proposed ‘crime-prevention’ mode? Some of the commissioners felt that training arrangements in the region are still “too ad hoc and that there needs to be thorough and more permanent methods of providing training for our officers …”

Given the challenge of transnational crime, the divergent views on law enforcement and the limited capability of the police forces, it is clear that much more work needs to be done at three levels – ‘national’ police forces and ‘regional’ ministers of security and law enforcement – in order to chart a common course for regional police reform.