UK donates 20 computers to facility

The Joint Regional Communication Centre (JRCC) has benefited from an uplift in IT equipment, thanks to a donation of twenty computers from the United Kingdom Home Office and the British High Commission Bridgetown.

The computers have outfitted a dedicated training facility at the JRCC and are being used to support the safe and effective delivery of the centre’s training programmes amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. British High Commissioner to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, Scott Furssedonn-Wood, recently formally handed over the equipment to the JRCC. He was pleased to see the computers in operation and being used to their full advantage.

The UK Home Office’s partnership with the JRCC, a sub agency of the CARICOM Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (CARICOM IMPACS) dates back to 2015. The two agencies work together to support strong security and border management in the Caribbean region. This includes an ongoing joint project to assist CARICOM members with the development and delivery of a sustainable training programme on intelligence skills, for front line law enforcement officers who deal with immigration threats to the border.

As JRCC staff are comprised of both contracted and seconded persons from across the Caribbean, the training programme will upskill and enable its staff to cascade knowledge to colleagues when they return to their home locations. This is an important capability which the UK Home Office and British High Commission Bridgetown endorse.

CARICOM IMPACS director (Ag) Tonya Ayow said: “The Agency is currently equipping itself to fulfil one of its initial and most critical mandate: Capacity Building. CARICOM IMPACS is currently in the process of building two training centres, each with a 40-person capacity to focus on law enforcement training, especially border security and intelligence. The PCs will boost this capacity support and planning for a Post Covid-19 environment.”

Furssedonn-Wood said: “The UK’s collaboration with the JRCC will assist CARICOM member states with developing a strong cohort of trainers, who will continue to build internal capacity and improve the skills of front-line officers across the region. I am pleased that through our ongoing partnership, much is being done to support strong security and border management in the Caribbean region.” (PR)