“There must be a reckoning for those who have so consistently taunted us even as they have misunderstood our patience for cowardice. We are resolved to do all that is necessary here,” said Attorney General John Jeremie, during the launch of the 4th International Conference on Crime and Justice in the Caribbean at the learning Resource Centre of the UWI, St. Augustine Campus, on Wednesday 8, 2006.

The Attorney General continued: “In the past ten weeks law enforcement has grown bolder and our prosecutions more innovative and robust. In the coming year it is our intention to carry our resolve to its proper and logical end.”

Additionally, he said: “As we discover and innovate to respond to our threat the Government shall not shirk from its responsibility to get the administrative and legislative measures right. To work consistently towards streamlining the criminal justice system.”

Campus Principal Dr. Bhoendradatt Tewarie suggested in his address that a shift should be made in the approach to crime. The emphasis he said should be placed on crime as a developmental and social issue rather than one of security only. “Regional collaboration, cooperation, sharing of information involving key national institutions such as Coast Guard, Police (and) Customs would seem to me to be a fundamental requirement across the region Indeed without a handle on crime, and a sense of assurance on security matters, development would just not happen at the pace at which it should in this part of the world,” he said.

Dr. Tewarie also proposed: “the establishment of an independent anti-corruption capability to clean out corruption wherever it exists, whether in the Police Service, in Government and politics, in State institutions and in the Private Sector.”

Chairman of the Conference and Director, UWI Centre for Criminology and Criminal Justice, Professor Ramesh Deosaran, made his points by asking the following questions: “to what extent should our basic rights and freedoms be diminished in order to allow the government and its agencies to “deal” with crime and criminals? If and when such rights and freedoms are diminished and willingly surrendered by law-abiding citizens what would they get in return? Less crime or more crime? And if more crime, as is usually the case, then what?”

Additionally, he highlighted the need for funding for research in the theory of criminology even while he acknowledged the need for research to respond to immediate policy demands. He stated that in order for this to be achieved there were several bridges to cross, some shakier than others, to make the link between research and public policy.

UWI Vice Chancellor, Professor E. Nigel Harris pointed to the cost of crime to the region in terms of its debilitating effect on society and explained to the distinguished audience, his university-wide initiative in collaboration with CARICOM to establish a Caribbean Centre for Crime and Justice that would focus on research, problem-solving and training.

Entitled “New Challenges in Crime and Justice - From Research to Policy,” the conference comprised 28 panel discussions and other research presentations and concluded with the Tobago Leg at the Mt. Irvine Bay Hotel, Tobago. The conference was jointly hosted by The Centre for Criminology and Criminal Justice in collaboration with the Office of the Attorney General.