Partnerships for Safer Societies Police and Academics Second, to flag some of the opportunities and issues that, as partners, ICJS and ACCP may pursue.
BACKGROUND INTRODUCTION
In many countries, partnerships between the police and academics are fairly common place. These partnerships, which take different forms, have been for the most part fruitful and mutually beneficial. They have contributed to the development of new methods of investigation (such as in the forensic sciences), new methods of management, new ways of thinking about policing and new ways of problem-solving. In the Caribbean, such partnerships have been gradually developing – more however as individual efforts rather than on an institution-to-institution basis. The challenge is to move this process forward methodically and on an institution to institution basis. Given the limited human resources and capabilities of each institution, and indeed each country of the region, a partnership between the ACCP and ICJS/ UWI has a powerful basis as a potential multiplier of these limited resources. Both the Institute of Criminal Justice and Security (ICJS) and the police/ACCP have a shared interest in improving public safety and justice. By partnering, the professional interests and the prospects for problem-solving in both the academic and policing domains may be advanced and improved as professional and experientially acquired knowledge is joined with knowledge that is generated by research. Moreover, the ACCP and the UWI are both regional organisations that operate in every English-Speaking territory. This should facilitate common understandings and shared research and programme priorities. In this article, I wish to do two things: First, to introduce the ICJS at The UWI as a potential partner.
42
The ICJS and its work may be best understood if a bit of background information is given. When he took office as the Vice Chancellor of The UWI, Professor E. Nigel Harris proposed that the University become more focused on scientific work that would advance (1) wealth creation and (2) reduce the vulnerabilities of the region. Toward these ends, four University-wide (that is, non-campus-based) institutes were formed. The ICJS is dedicated to achieving the second objective. It is tasked with work in support of reducing the vulnerability of the region to crime and the effects of insecurity. Its work is thus closely tied to the development imperatives of the region.
MISSON OF THE ICJS
At the time of its creation, there were dramatic changes in the security situation in the region and include significant and persistent increases in the rates of violent crimes, particularly murder, increased gang prevalence and the crime productivity of these gangs and organized crime networks, and elevated feelings of insecurity and its resulting negative economic and quality of life impacts. There were also intensified population demand for solutions and greater law enforcement and government accountability as well as the resulting demand for more comprehensive responses that are not limited to Law Enforcement. The purposes of the ICJS are therefore:
1. To be the centre of research on crime and security-related issues in the Caribbean. 2. To find solutions which are empirically based (that is, evidentially grounded in work on the region), conceptually sound (that is, having a clear