Regional Caribbean Police Professionalization and Modernization

Under the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI), the Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) has invested significantly since 2010 in supporting law enforcement professionalization, counternarcotics efforts, countering money laundering, and the promoting rule of law in the 13 CBSI countries (Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Suriname, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, The Bahamas, and Trinidad and Tobago). Bolstering citizen security is one of INL CBSI’s overarching strategic objectives. Building the capacity of Caribbean law enforcement institutions and actors is critical to achieving this objective. While INL has made substantial investment in bilateral efforts to improve partner nation capacity in various policing functions, many Caribbean law enforcement institutions continue to struggle with corruption, limited effectiveness, and strained relationships with communities. No one intervention will correct these complex issues, but enhancing and updating outdated and inadequate academy training and standards will provide a foundation of a professional police force on which future programs can build. This regional program will serve to increase professionalization of Caribbean law enforcement academies/training institutions and to standardize institutional practices throughout the region, where possible. The goal of the regional police professionalization project is to ensure police academy recruitment, education, and training and institutional standards and practices result in law enforcement officers capable of addressing citizen security challenges and strengthen the relationship between police and the communities they serve.