CARICOM Implementation Agency for Crime and Security. 9 February 2010

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Lucas Price
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1 Observations on Youth Violence and Gang-related Activity in the CARICOM Region The escalating rise in Youth Violence and Gang-related Activity has significant negative effects on our security in the CARICOM Region. This growing trend is a major cause for concern, and an area in which serious attention must be given with proactive measures taken to protect our citizens, in an effort to preserve a way of life long enjoyed and treasured by nationals and visitors within the Region. Gang-related activity continues to prejudice and impede both the social and economic development of the Region, and the increasing rate of youth and gang-related crime and violence have short, medium and long term effects on human welfare, economic growth and social development. CARICOM s current reality in regards to Threats to Regional Security is amongst others, fostered by porous borders total land space within CARICOM is 462,472kms; hence securing all of our borders at all times is a very difficult task to achieve especially with limited Border Control Systems. This is compounded by the fact that our Law Enforcement and Security Agencies are under-resourced and have limited capabilities of physical resources, maritime assets, funding and training, hence the threats to our safety and security are ever real and disquieting.

2 Due to limited resources, the Region is faced with a host of threats stemming from unmanned airstrips and inadequately patrolled coastlines susceptible to marine incursions, to the illicit trade of illegal drugs, trafficking of Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW), explosives, and humans. These shortcomings serve to create a rampant criminal landscape, dominated by gangs and criminal deportees who are involved in every aspect of crime and violence, organized crime, money laundering, counterfeiting, armed robberies, rape, kidnapping and murders. There are several mitigating factors which have proven to be formidable stumbling blocks in the collection of data on Youth Violence and Gang Activity throughout Member States: These include - The absence of a regional uniform definition of a gang; Denial of a gang presence by law enforcement officials in some jurisdictions despite indicators to the contrary; The absence of proper systems for the identification and recording of gang data; and Un-timeliness of responses from Member States to request for information (RFI). The CARICOM Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (IMPACS), through its sub-agency the Regional Intelligence Fusion Centre (RIFC), sent correspondence to Member States requesting information with respect to gangs and persons to be placed

3 on CARICOM Integrated Border Security System (CARIBSEC) and CARICOM Automatic Watchlist System (CAWS) to allow for the detection, monitoring and analysis of gang members traversing the Region. The general findings of this request to CARICOM Member States on Youth Violence and Gang Activity in the Region realized the following - Of fourteen (14) Member States only nine (9) responded; Of the nine (9), one (1) reported no gang activity, while four (4) reported between 8 17 gangs; The number of persons involved in criminal gang activity ranged from 200 to 1700 (94 gangs) to (200 gangs) across Member States; Gangs are hierarchical in structure and populated by mainly under-educated youth perceiving themselves as dispossessed; Limited female gangs, however females play key roles in male dominated gangs; These gangs significantly contribute to crime and violence in the Region; They possess and use the latest and emerging forms of technology for communications; and Recruitment grounds include shared prison spaces, schools, and community centres etc. While there are two (2) main Gang Types within the Region operating in separate environments and seemingly controlling different territories, they however share the same Modus Operandi and are often made up of the same members. To members,

4 these gangs offer acceptance and a sense of security, a surrogate family, power and control over one's self, others, and life situations, easier access to money and intimidation. TYPE 1 - STREET GANGS These are gangs that operate throughout the urban and rural areas of Member States in the Region and are a significant threat; Criminal activities such as violence and drug trafficking perpetrated by street gangs pose the greatest threat; and The threat becomes magnified as national and regional level street gangs migrate from urban areas to suburban and rural communities, expanding their influence in most regions and broadening their presence. TYPE II - PRISON GANGS Prison gangs are highly structured criminal networks that operate within Member States prison systems; Prison gangs pose a serious national and regional threat, particularly prison gangs that affiliate with and maintain substantial influence over street gangs in the communities in which they operate; and Released members typically return to their home communities and resume their former street gang affiliations and perform criminal acts on behalf of the prison gang. The criminal activities engaged in by both street and prison gangs in the Region include: Narcotics Trafficking; Arms Trafficking; Violent disputes over turf;

5 Auto theft; Burglary; Drive By Shootings; Kidnapping; Fraud; Homicides and Firearms Offenses; and Extortion. The chart below seeks to highlight the span of activities associated with gangs in the Region.

6 CARICOM CRIMINAL ACTIVITY PROFILE (FEB 07 - MAR 09) SERIOUS CRIMES/ KIDNAPPING/ ILLEGAL IMPRISONMENT, 10 SERIOUS CRIMES/ ASSOC WITH IN TERRORIST ACTIVITIES, 4 OVERSTAYED/ DENIED ENTRY, 33 ASSAULT & BATTERY/ ARMED WITH DANGEROUS OTHER, 9 HUMAN SEXUAL, 16 WEAPON, 12 TRAFFICKING, 30 PROSTITUTION, 78 SUPPORTER OF RADICAL ISLAMIIC EXTREMISTS 3% ARMS, AMMO, EXPLOSIVES, 14 ROBBERY, INVOLVED IN 7 ARMS & AMMO TRADE, 79 LARCENY, 17 NARCOTICS, 434 FRAUD, 97 LINKS TO DRUG TRAFFICKERS, 114 EXPORT FOREIGN CURRENCY/ MONEY LAUNDERING, 11 MURDER/ MAN- SLAUGHTER, 5

7 Within CARICOM Member States, gang activity is present in four (4) stages with some level of progression of members from one level to another, beginning as early as school children and teenagers throwing stones and stealing fruits. Unemployed youths and adults secure their semi-hardcore status with the use of guns and knives to commit burglary and assault. In addition there are the social elites and professionals who cook the books or deal drugs, committing what is commonly referred to as white collar crime. Then there are the hardcore gang activities perpetrated by unemployed/working class which uses guns, contract killings, kidnapping etc to achieve their goals GANG PROGRESSION MEMBERSHIP MEANS ACTIVITIES Soft Teenagers Stone, slicks (sling shots) Praedial larceny (fruit stealing) Semi Hardcore Unemployed youths, adults Guns, cutlasses knives, Praedial (burglary); (individuals) larceny Assault/ Posh Social elites, professional Cooking the books guns/murder (complicity) White collar crime; drugs

8 Hardcore Unemployed/working class Guns, contract killings, kidnappings molotov cocktails, dismemberment Robbery (organizations), drugs, rape The ultimate way to combat current and emerging gang-related threats is to ensure that the Region is merged into one space, with a seamless border that facilitates cooperation and coordination, knitted together by the appropriate legislation, partnerships and national development, with the capacity to effectively and efficiently respond to current trends and patterns. In this regard, it should be noted that the Thirteenth Special Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of CARICOM (April 2008), initiated a decisive course of action to address the common security threats of illegal firearms, drug trafficking, murder, gang and youth-related violence, kidnapping and deportees that now confront CARICOM Member States. The following are relevant avenues to be explored in the fight against current and emerging gang-related threats in the Region. FOCUSSED ANALYSIS The commissioning of a regional gang study to properly assess the gang environment and to answer the undermentioned questions:

9 What threat do gangs pose at the national and regional levels? How many gangs and gang members are in existence, and where are they located? Which gangs pose the greatest threat? Which gangs have ties to drug trafficking and transnational organizations? What types of criminal activity do gang members engage in? and What effect is gang activity having on communities, Member States and the Region? MULTI-SECTOR RESPONSE EDUCATION Formulation and Implementation of National Gang Intervention Programs that targets street and prison gangs. PREVENTION Targets the high risk groups in society and develop and implement programs to provide alternatives to gangs; and The development of gang rehabilitation and reintegration programs. LEGISLATION The development of gang violence prosecution programmes (e.g counterproliferation, anti - loitering, asset seizure, enhanced Police surveillance of gang activities, etc) CAPACITY ENHANCEMENT

10 Train law enforcement and security agencies on anti-gang strategies and measures to improve the level of knowledge, communication, and collaboration among agencies; The development of focussed national task forces to deal with gangs; The development and implementation of national information sharing systems to support regional sharing mechanisms; and Improve regional information and intelligence sharing on gang data. Additionally, the reduction of crime and violence that is fuelled by the presence of gangs and gang- related activity could be facilitated through; Continued convening of meetings to address the challenges associated with gangs in the Region; the establishment of a Gang and Youth Violence Desk at the RIFC to assist Member States in the analysis of gang activity and youth violence data; Development of monitoring capacity - nationally and regionally; Create/enhance a Human Resource Development Strategy; Utilization of current facilities such as RIFC, Joint Regional Communication Centre (JRCC), CARICOM Intelligence Sharing Network (CISNET), and CARICOM Watch List (CAWS); Capacity-building for gang infiltration; Focus regional efforts to implement an Action Plan against transnational crimes Conduct institution building towards supporting an Action Plan; Strengthen the mechanisms for increased cooperation and synergies among Member States;

11 Develop a more cohesive network for communication among Member States; Improve functional cooperation and provide consistency among Member States; Further develop the law enforcement and security capacities across the Region; and Improve the efficiency of the Criminal Justice System across the Region. Ever conscious of the many evolving threats facing the Caribbean Community, the Council of Ministers Responsible for National Security and Law Enforcement (CONSLE) in accord with Heads of Government (HOG) took several proactive steps to combat these emergent security threats. Hence, several decisions on matters relating to the overall safety of CARICOM citizens and security of the Region were made by Heads of Government (13 th Special Meeting of Conference of Heads of Government April 2008 and 29 th Meeting of the Conference). With regard to Border Security CARICOM Heads of Government mandated: An upgrade to the Advance Passenger Information System (APIS) (13 th Special); The development of Advance Cargo Information System (ACIS) (13 th Special); An upgrade and expansion of elements of Regional Intelligence Fusion Centre (RIFC) (13 th Special HOG); and

12 The implementation of the CARICOM Travel Card (CARIPASS) (28 th and 29 th HOG). With regard to Crime and Prevention Strategies CARICOM Heads of Government mandated: the development of a capability to increase surveillance in firearms, including the importation of, sale, transfer, theft and use of firearms (13 th Special); the engagement of international partners in anti narcotics efforts (13 th Special); and a regional response to criminal deportation from Third States (13 th Special). With regard to Human Resource Development Strategy CARICOM Heads of Government mandated: the retooling, retraining and realignment of national and regional Intelligence Units (13 th Special); the development of specially trained, equipped and dedicated teams of homicide investigators(13 th Special); and the establishment of polygraph capacity (13 th Special). Subsequent to decisions of CARICOM Heads of Government, several projects were approved by CONSLE, to execute those mandates to provide a safer, more secure

13 Caribbean Community. In responding to the need for a secure Region, the Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (IMPACS) has coordinated several relevant stakeholder imperatives and initiatives. Completed Stakeholder Imperatives and Initiatives Coordinated by CARICOM IMPACS include, inter alia: Development of a Watch-list System; Development of comprehensive Regional Security Plan; Continuous joint regional risk assessment; Enhanced intelligence sharing; Enhanced information sharing; Tracking of visitors and criminals; Establishment of Deportation Working Group that produced a document entitled Beyond Boundaries A Comprehensive Study of Criminal Deportation in Antigua & Barbuda, Guyana, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago; Development of CISNET; and Development of interim information sharing mechanism. The Region s Law Enforcement officials are aware that criminals are very opportunistic and seek to profit by almost any means necessary while capitalizing on the limitations of law enforcement throughout the Region. It is for these reasons why regional Heads

14 have responded to the current situation by creating a regional management framework for crime and security to ensure that all responses to the threats are taken in a coordinated and collective manner. As such IMPACS has been tasked to implement a number of projects to fulfill the mandates given by HOG. These projects include, inter alia: Development of Regional Crime and Security Strategy and comprehensive National Security Plans; Implementation of Counter Proliferation Strategy (SALW) and Regional Integrated Ballistic Information Network (RIBIN) etc); Review of concept of National Joint Coordinating Centres (NJCCs); Improvement of Regional Capacity in Intelligence, Kidnapping and Homicide Investigations (Regional Investigative Management System (RIMS) etc); Implementation of Regional Cyber-security Plan; Implementation of a travel card (CARIPASS) for the Region; and Systems and Databases survey for an Integrated Criminal Records Systems (ICRS). The CARICOM Secretariat and IMPACS, through mandates from HOG, engage in both regional and international partnerships, which contribute to the safety and security of the Community. Both play an integral role in developing and implementing projects and activities which seek to engage cooperation and collaboration among Member States

15 with the aim of striving towards standardization and harmonization of regional policies, practices and procedures in the fight against threats to public safety in the Region.

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