Caribbean Community leaders say they are about to add another weapon to their armor to fight violent crime in the region and will soon roll out an arrest warrant treaty that will target criminals across the 15-nation grouping.
Leaders discussed the issue at a two-day mini summit in Guyana late last week after they had had their half-day conference with visiting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Most of those who had stayed on at bloc headquarters in Guyana attended the meeting to discuss this and crime as a public health problem, among other challenges.
Hailing the work of technicians and those involved in drafting the bill, Trinidadian Prime Minister Keith Rowley was forthright in his warning to criminal elements, saying it will become much more difficult to hide from regional law enforcement. The bill will harmonize law across the region, making it easier for a convict to be quickly repatriated once the request is made. “This legislation marks a bold step toward a safer Caribbean. Our little criminal punks must now know that there are no safe harbors in any of our Caricom territories,” Rowley said. “I am particularly pleased to hear that we are there. Our little criminal punks must now know that in every Caricom territory, the law applies to them equally with respect to warrants for their restraint and apprehension in anticipation of their successful prosecution, that there are no safe harbors in any of our Caricom territories,” he told colleagues. “We need to confront this urgent challenge of violence and insecurity.”
Grenadian Prime Minister and current bloc chairman Dickon Mitchell also sounded a warning to those in crime, noting that “every citizen should be secure and have the opportunity to realize their potential with guaranteed human rights and social justice.”
The leaders also complained about the continued smuggling of hand- and high-powered weapons to the region from American destinations, with Rowley appealing to U.S. authorities to step up cooperation to prevent the avalanche of arms from coming into the bloc. He also noted the making of legislation in the U.S. to allow federal agencies to treat trans-state, cross-border trafficking. “These developments are helping us to slow the flow of arms to territories and to identify perpetrators and facilitators,” he said, adding that the region found “receptive ears” in Washington.
Additionally, a database on gangs and gang members has been established through the Trinidad-based Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (IMPACS) as a key resource to help law enforcement agencies fight gang-related activities.
Governments in Trinidad, Barbados, the Bahamas, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, and Antigua among others have complained about an exponential increase in gun violence in recent years. Trinidad, for example, appears to be on course to tally up to 630-plus murders this year as it averages about 50 each month. The 2023 figure was placed at 599.
The legislation provides for an arrest warrant to be issued against a person reasonably suspected of committing an offense or is charged with an offense, has fled from justice after having been convicted, or is the victim of an offense involving a sentence of one year or greater. Judicial officers at the level of a judge or higher can issue a Caricom arrest warrant and preside over hearings to determine repatriation.
Making his contribution to the workshop, Prime Minister Gaston Browne of Antigua suggested that colleagues and the region pay greater attention to mental health and its link to criminal activities. He also blamed controversial lyrics in some musical genres in the region for the state of play at the moment.
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“We must be more respectful of others, we must recognize the other types of crime and the transnational organized crime, the facilitators. Governments are now called upon to place more resources to better handle the upsurge of crime and violence. Many of our youths are showing a lack of empathy and an overall disregard for authority. Therefore, we as leaders in the community need to focus on a total re-culturing of our households and broader society.” He pointed to the lack of civility and the need for the intensification of strategies to encourage drug demand reduction, the need to increase public education programs, the reduction in the access to firearms, and the proliferation of youth gangs which he said “must be at the core of our interventions.”