ST. KITTS AND NEVIS HOSTS REGIONAL CONFERENCE ON

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BRIDGETOWN 000448

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KCRM ECON SOCI PREL PGOV XL
SUBJECT: ST. KITTS AND NEVIS HOSTS REGIONAL CONFERENCE ON
CRIME

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Summary
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1. (U) In an effort to get a grip on escalating, gang-related
violent crime in the Eastern Caribbean, St. Kitts and Nevis
hosted the first Regional Conference on Youth Crime and
Violence Prevention on June 22-23. The conference sought to
define the scope of the problem, establish why the violence
is occurring, ascertain workable options for prevention, and
implement effective interventions. Leaders from around the
region were in attendance, including Prime Minister Patrick
Manning of Trinidad and Tobago, Prime Minister Denzil Douglas
of St. Kitts and Nevis, CARICOM Secretary General Edwin
Carrington, and OAS A/SYG Albert Ramdin. PM Douglas opened
the conference with a surprising speech in which he
acknowledged his party's inability to reduce crime over the
past 14 years. The conference highlighted two main causes of
youth crime: the absence of effective parenting and the lack
of a juvenile court system. All in attendance agreed that
the current crime wave is threatening security in the region.


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PM Douglas Sets Somber Tone
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2. (U) Prime Minister Denzil Douglas of St. Kitts and Nevis
opened the Conference with a candid presentation in which he
pointed out how, 14 years ago, his party came into office
during a crime wave promising to fight crime. Fourteen years
later, Douglas admitted, no progress has been made and the
problem has grown. Douglas cautioned that rampant crime
could cause the Eastern Caribbean to lose everything it has
worked for since gaining independence. This frank speech,
highlighting his own party's weaknesses, was all the more
surprising as it came just months or weeks before St. Kitts
and Nevis is due to hold elections.

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Causes of Crime Easy to See
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3. (U) The conference brought to the forefront several
catalysts of increased crime in the region, but the most
notable recurring theme was the absence of effective
parenting. Many children grow up in one-parent homes,
primarily with their mothers, and lack any kind of real
supervision during their most formative years. With few
options to occupy their time, almost complete freedom from
supervision, and the siren's song of easy wealth and
"respect" from the drug trade, youths are easily lured into a
life of crime and drug use. Much of the Eastern Caribbean
lacks programs for early intervention to compete against the
pull of youth gangs, which can also serve as surrogate
families. Young impressionable individuals are easily
recruited. In fact, several school children who were brought
in to speak at the conference informed the attendees that
parents often push them into criminal activity due to family
financial problems and a lack of any real economic
opportunity for their children. The children frankly
admitted that the non-existence of any real parenting is a
major contributor to the growth of crime.


4. (U) On the prevention and rehabilitation side, many
commentators noted that the Eastern Caribbean lacks a
coherent juvenile justice system. Without a mechanism to
deal with juvenile offenders, all persons are prosecuted
under laws set up for adult offenders. Treating pre-teen and
teenage youths as adults in the court systems only further
pushes them down the wrong path. Without any juvenile
rehabilitation programs, young minds that otherwise could
have been steered away from crime are lost as they enter the
adult court and prison systems. Conference attendees agreed
that a juvenile justice system, with alternative sentencing
and early intervention programs, is a critical part of any
proposed solution to the problem of youth crime.

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...But Solutions Hard to Come By
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5. (U) While the litany of causes of youth crime and the
resources needed to address the issue were easily identified,
solutions attempted or planned were in obvious short supply.
There was no answer to the question of what countries in the
region are doing to address the problem. Strapped for
financial, infrastructure, and institutional resources, the
participant countries simply do not have sufficient ability
to fight the problem. Police are understaffed, undertrained,

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and underpaid, leaving drug gangs often the de facto
authorities in select neighborhoods. Most regional
governments confess to a certain shell-shocked impotence to
address a problem that they see as having quickly ballooned
beyond their modest ability to address it.

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Comment
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6. (U) By their own admission, the Eastern Caribbean has been
caught off guard by this wave of violent crime, which has
quickly become national security issue Number One for at
least the smaller islands. With little or no resources
dedicated to the issue, the problem is likely to get worse
before getting better. Currently the countries of the
Eastern Caribbean are in the early stages of defining the
problem and discussing possible roads to a solution. The
candid speech by Douglas reflects just how severe the problem
is. The conference was a good first step by focusing
high-level attention to identify and discuss the scope of the
problem. The challenge now, participants recognized, is to
secure the resources to address the problems, which will
require both regional and international participation. The
Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI) currently being
developed between the U.S. and the Caribbean could not come
at a more critical time.


7. (U) Many of the concerns raised in this conference
mirrored exactly the concerns Attorney General Holder heard
when he met CARICOM Attorneys General during his May 21-23
visit to Barbados. Development of a juvenile justice system,
as well as the creation of mitigation programs such as life
skills and work skills development should be a key component
of our efforts to build a multi-year security assistance
program for the region under CBSI. We are certain that host
country governments will welcome such programs and
participate in their development, and we look forward to
engaging with Washington agencies to construct such programs.
Startup costs may be high, but the administration costs are
likely to be much more modest, making such programs ideal,
sustainable candidates for CBSI funding.
HARDT