VZCZCXRO3868
RR RUEHGR
DE RUEHWN #0448/01 2031814
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 221814Z JUL 09
FM AMEMBASSY BRIDGETOWN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7624
INFO RUCNCOM/EC CARICOM COLLECTIVE
RUMIAAA/HQ USSOUTHCOM J2 MIAMI FL
RUMIAAA/HQ USSOUTHCOM J5 MIAMI FL

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 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶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, 
 
BRIDGETOWN 00000448  002 OF 002 
 
 
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