WITH THE homicide rate of the Caribbean three times that of the world, the first day of a Regional Conference on Crime and Security at the University of the West Indies, Mona, yesterday focused on some of the main issues that contribute to violence and deviant behaviour and solutions to such.
Representatives from Jamaica, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada, Guyana and the United States were present at the conference which, on its first day, looked at crime prevention in inner-city communities, youth violence and modelling crime in urban cities.
Dr. Jorge Lamas, of the Inter-American Development Bank, in a presentation to the conference said that crime and violence throughout the Caribbean was having an impact on the various economies and social structures.
"Violence requires a multifaceted approach and trying to deal with these issues with a quick solution or one solution only leads to ineffective implementation of those solutions," he said.
More than police
Dr. Lamas stressed that research shows that multifaceted solutions are the best way forward and that governments should focus on prevention, identifying risk factors and dealing with them.
In commenting on the role of the police in reducing violence, Dr. Lamas said the reliance on the police alone to rid societies of violence will not bring solutions. He also recommended that police forces should be proactive instead of reactive.
"We need to provide a shift of responsibility from dealing just with the police to recognising that government and partnerships at all levels are needed to actively engage with this process."
On the subject of youth violence, several presentations highlighted the debilitating effect of juvenile delinquency.
In a presentation, Dr. Cornelia Tesliuc, social protection specialist at the World Bank, highlighted the fact that violent behaviour among youth leads to a loss of four per cent of tourist receipts in Jamaica.
In her recommendations Dr. Tesliuc said governments should treat the youth portfolio as an investment and should include programmes for at-risk youth who need a second chance.
