LAUNCH OF THE CARISECURE NATIONAL TASK FORCE AND CITIZEN SECURITY TOOLKIT
Written by Carole Noble on June 18, 2018
The purpose of the event is to convene a select group of practitioners and key stakeholders working within crime and violence institutions, who will form Grenada’s National Task Force. These national policy and technical officials will be trained to promote and implement evidence-based decision making within their respective agencies.
The launch is part of a three-day workshop on the roles and responsibilities of Grenada Task Force members. The workshop will also unveil the Caribbean Citizen Security Toolkit developed under the United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) CariSECURE project. The Task Force’s key responsibility will be the operationalization of the Caribbean Citizen Security Toolkit, a set of instruments designed to improve citizen security data management, analysis, and monitoring for crime reduction and prevention in Grenada and the region.
Workshop participants will learn how to effectively analyze and manage crime data. They will be expected to drive the management and use of the Toolkit on behalf of the Government of Grenada; assess the strengths and weaknesses in collecting and disseminating data; and identify critical next steps for the agencies they represent.
Attendees will include: the Honorable Gregory Clarence Bowen, Acting Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure Development, Public Utilities, Energy, Transport and Implementation; Mr. Christopher Cushing, USAID Mission Director for the Eastern and Southern Caribbean; Mr. Stephen Frahm, US Embassy’s Principal Officer in Grenada
and Ms. Chisa Mikami, UNDP Deputy Resident Representative for Barbados and the OECS.
The Task Force will comprise representatives from the Royal Grenada Police Force, the Prison Department, Statistical Office, and the Ministry of National Security.
The CariSECURE project, implemented by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), seeks to build the capacity of regional bodies; national governments; and community stakeholders to analyze crime and violence data and use the information to develop policies and programs to reduce youth crime, violence, and victimization. The project provides support to eight countries (Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Grenada, Guyana, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Suriname). Particular focus will be placed on USAID priority countries: Saint Lucia, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and Guyana. CariSECURE is one of three activities that falls under USAID’s Youth Empowerment Services (YES) Project that aims to reduce youth involvement in crime and violence in target communities.
