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Contact:
Michelle Serieux
Friday, July 02, 2004 - Prime Minister of Jamaica, PJ Patterson was
extremely concerned about the new forms of crime and violence in the Caribbean
region, when he addressed the Joint Session of Parliament in Castries, St Lucia
on Thursday July 1, 2004. Mr Patterson acknowledged that while the structure of
the crime problem varied from country to country, there was indeed a need for
collaborative approaches to deal with the inter-related problems of crime,
illicit drugs, as well as terrorism.
The Jamaican Prime Minister pointed out that by virtue of geographical location,
the Caribbean Region had become the main route travelled by drug dealers from
the producing countries to their markets in North America and Europe.
According to Prime Minister Patterson, the Regional Task Force on Crime and
Security had provided the Community with policy directives and recommendations
for dealing with the range of complex security concerns. These included the need
for a developmental and multi-sectoral approach for the execution of crime
prevention initiatives over a long term. The Task Force recognized the fact that
the crime problem was multidimensional. It pointed out that some of the causes
of crime revolved around poverty, inequality and social marginalisation, and
were fuelled by illegal firearms and ammunition, deportees, drug trafficking and
corruption.
Mr Patterson stated that the regional plan for a coordinated response
incorporated ongoing work on the impact of deportees on the escalating rate of
crime, trafficking in illicit arms, and the formulation of a policy for getting
guns off the streets.
The Prime Minister of Jamaica stated that efforts to combat the drug trade had
proven to be an expensive exercise, and had diverted substantial resources from
investment in areas, such as education and health. He called attention to the
fact that none of the countries in the Caribbean manufactured arms and weapons,
and yet they were all affected by this problem. The Prime Minister was convinced
that countries which are the primary manufacturers must accept the
responsibility to play their part in curbing the flow of these weapons.
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