Thu, 2008-06-05

Communique At Conclusion of the Tenth Joint Meeting of the Caribbean Community Standing Commissioners of Police and Military Chiefs

Hamilton Bermuda

June 5, 6, 2008

The Tenth Joint Meeting of the CARICOM Standing Committees of Commissioners of Police and Military Chiefs was held at the Fairmont Hamilton Princess Hotel, Bermuda, June 5, 6, 2008. The Meeting was co-chaired by Mr. George Jackson, Commissioner of Police, Bermuda who served as interim Chair in the absence of Mr. Henry Greene, Commissioner of Police, Guyana and Col. Alvin Quintyne, Chief of Staff, Barbados and current Chair for the standing committee of Military Chiefs.

The objective of the Meeting was to review action plans discussed at the Ninth Joint Meeting of the CARICOM Standing Committees of Commissioners of Police and Military Chiefs held in St. Kitts in April and to make recommendations to put forward to the Sixth Meeting of the Council of Ministers Responsible for National Security and Law Enforcement (CONSLE) scheduled for later this month also in St. Kitts. Key items on the agenda for discussion included - Justice Protection Programmes and issues relating to the capacities and methods utilized in the detection and surveillance of illegal firearms; CARICOM'S proposed Regional Integrated Ballistic Information Network (RIBIN); capacity building in the area of intelligence operations; homicide investigations; forensic sciences and regional maritime cooperation.

The feature speaker at the opening sessions, Senator the Hon. Lt. Col. David Burt OBE (Mil) ED JP - Minister of Home Affairs & Housing welcomed members of both Standing Committees to Bermuda and declared the meeting officially open. In his opening remarks, Senator Burch highlighted Bermuda's continued commitment to its participation in regional security strategies in view of the regional nature of crime and the security issues facing the community as a whole.

The Commissioners of Police and Military Chiefs having discussed the highlighted topics have made several recommendations to be presented to the Ministers responsible for National Security and Law Enforcement (Meeting in St. Kitts).

In attendance were Commissioners of Police and Military Chiefs from Member States including Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Grenada, Guyana, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Trinidad and Tobago as well as representatives from the Associate States of host country Bermuda, British Virgin islands and the Turks and Caicos Islands. Delegates also included Directors and other Senior Officers of the CARICOM Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (IMPACS), the Joint Regional Communications Centre (JRCC) and the Regional Intelligence Fusion Centre (RIFC). Also in attendance, were guest speakers in the area of Justice Protection and Customs.

New Police Recruits

On behalf of the Commissioner of Police George Jackson, the Bermuda Police Service is pleased to announce that five young Bermudians recently completed the Police Cadet Programme and subsequently took an oath to become Police officers. The three young ladies and two young men range in age from 20 to 23 years old. They were sworn in as Police Constables effective Wednesday 28th May 2008. Four of the five recruits have already completed their Associates or Bachelors Degree programmes, with the remaining recruit pursuing his options in other academic areas. The 5 new recruits are:

• PC 2351 Derrick Golding – Bachelors Degree in Business from Acadia University
• PC 2352 La’Toyia Brunson – Associates Degree in Business from Bermuda College
• PC 2353 Janeal Parson – Associates Degree in Human Services from Bermuda College
• PC 2354 Kemar Peters – (pursuing his options in other academic areas)
• PC 2355 Kendy Swainson – Associates Degree in Business from Bermuda College

These 5 new Police recruits aged 23, 23, 21, 20 & 21 years old respectively, are now preparing to join the next Recruit Foundation Course, which starts on Monday, June 23rd, 2008 and runs for approximately 18 weeks with an additional 6 week Street Duties Course at the end.

Pictured are the 5 new recruits with Commissioner of Police George Jackson. Front Row (left to right) - Kendy Swainson & La’Toyia Brunson. Back Row (left to right) - Derrick Golding, Kemar Peters, Janeal Parson & Commissioner of Police George Jackson.

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