USAID CariSECURE Project Introduces New Tools to Support Crime Reduction and Prevention in Barbados

In keeping with the Crime Prevention Month 2017 theme: Reducing Crime and Violence in Our Communities, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) – supported CariSECURE project, in collaboration with the Criminal Justice Research and Planning Unit of the Office of The Attorney General, is hosting a two-day workshop to build awareness of the recently developed Caribbean Citizen Security Toolkit on November 8 – 9, at United Nations House.  

The Caribbean Citizen Security Toolkit improves citizen security data management, analysis, and monitoring for crime reduction in the region. It introduces various instruments to standardize the collection of crime, violence, and victimization data by law enforcement personnel. The workshop targets senior public officers and technical officers with responsibility for information management and crime prevention in Barbados, and examines best practices while building awareness of how the tool strengthens national efforts to reduce and prevent crime, particularly among youth. Barbados’ Attorney General and Minister of Home Affairs, Adriel Brathwaite; United States Ambassador to Barbados, the Eastern Caribbean and the OECS, Linda Taglialatela; and UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative for Barbados and the OECS, Stephen O’Malley, were among those addressing the workshop’s Opening Ceremony.  

The toolkit will enhance data quality and the effectiveness of Barbados’ crime reduction and prevention strategies and reporting on citizen security patterns in Barbados and across the region. The Toolkit was developed following extensive consultations with regional stakeholders, including representatives from 10 member states, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat and its Advisory Group on Statistics (AGS), the Regional Security System (RSS), and the OECS Commission. Earlier this year, the Government of Barbados developed a National Task Force to drive its management and coordination.

CariSECURE is a component of USAID’s Youth Empowerment Services (YES) Project, which aims to build the region’s capacity to effectively address youth crime and violence, through the use of reliable national citizen security information. It represents a partnership between USAID and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), made possible by the support of the American People.