Police going digital

The Barbados Police Service will soon transition to a digitized information system along with the police forces in several other Caribbean countries.

It’s all part of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) initiative, Strengthening Evidence Based Decision Making for Citizen Security in the Caribbean (CariSECURE) project that is intended to help gather and analyse data that should help countries shape policies and crime-fighting strategies to tackle the crime scourge.

Over 300 pieces of Information Communication Technology (ICT) equipment are being donated to law enforcers in five eastern and southern Caribbean countries.

On Thursday morning, Barbados became the first country to receive the shipment of equipment that includes computer workstations, tablets, monitors, laptops, printers, and UPS at a handover ceremony at the Police Service Headquarters on Roebuck Street, Bridgetown.

It is intended to support the police force’s transition from paper-based crime data collection to a digitized police information system.

Speaking at the handover ceremony, USAID’s Regional Representative, Clinton White, stated: “Today’s event is precipitated by the evolving impact of technology in a world where physical boundaries are becoming less and less relevant. That technology has changed and continues to change the way societies behave and operate in both positive and not-so-positive ways. As a result, it was necessary to place technology and corresponding skills at the fingertips of law enforcement officers in seven Eastern and Southern Caribbean countries, including Barbados.”

“To this end, the United States Government, through USAID, has invested more than US$9 million with the goal to strengthen evidence-based decision making for citizen security in the Caribbean,” White added.

A Police Reporting Management Information System (PRMIS) is being developed through CariSECUREproject.
This equipment and software will enhance law enforcement’s ability to collect crime data and analytics will be generated to inform data-driven policing responses to help curb crime and violence in beneficiary countries.

“The strategic direction of the police force is to develop a robust transformation agenda,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police Erwin Boyce, adding that the training, technical support and equipment would support the transformation of the service.

He expressed gratitude to the donor USAID and implementing partner, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), for supporting the goal of the police force through tremendous financial investment and support.

UNDP Resident Representative to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean Valerie Cliff said her agency was delighted to support the region.

“The distribution of ICT equipment is in alignment with the CariSECURE project’s goals of using data to improve youth crime and violence policy-making and programming and will, undoubtedly, help to advance data-driven citizen security in the region and build strong institutions,” Cliff said. (SD/PR)