CATEGORY:REGIONAL -------------------- INSIDE GRENADA SUNDAY July 29,2007 by Wallace J.A According to an article appearing in a BBC Caribbean report, the United States is to provide millions of dollars to Caribbean governments to assist them in re-integrating citizens that are deported from the US for criminal offences. This position came out of a Congressional hearing in which delegates form the Caribbean and Latin America articulated the severe negative impact that the US criminal deportees program was having on regional societies. Many of these deportees are well-versed in criminal activities and in some cases, possess a level of intellectual and technical expertise which our regional law enforcement capabilities may find difficult to deal with in an effective and decisive manner. Many of them have very distant social ties with the region, having left the Caribbean during their early years of life. This usually makes the process of social re-integration somewhat difficult and this factor, in itself, could very well help to create the sort of ‘environment’ for some of these individuals to once more get involved in criminal activities. Regional governments have very scarce financial resources at their disposal and in the vast majority of cases, lack the intellectual and infrastructural capacity to handle the apparent upsurge in criminal activities that the region is experiencing. In many instances, there is a tremendous backlog of cases in the court system; the prisons and correctional facilities are small, overpopulated and are not equipped with modern security gadgets (technical and surveillance equipment) and the law enforcement capabilities are restricted by insufficient transportation utilities, technological equipment and intellectual expertise. The salaries offered to law enforcement officers may also be a crucial factor in the whole scenario, because in most cases, it is grossly insufficient and will not attract many recruits of extremely high intellectual caliber. Most of these young people opt to further their studies in other fields where the grass may seem greener. The criminal deportee phenomenon can have a colossal negative impact on the socio-economic landscape of our region. Not only will our social fabric be torn and appear to fall apart at the seams but our diminutive and fragile economies could face tremendous uphill challenges. An escalation of crime in the region will be a strong disincentive to the millions of tourists who visit our shores yearly, bringing billions of dollars to our regional coffers and creating a multiplicity of job opportunities in the process. Added to that, investors may not be attracted to the region and may chose to go elsewhere to do business. The Caribbean can ill-afford that at this time, because these investors can bring with them thousands of job opportunities for the unemployed peoples of the sub-region and act as a catalyst to stimulate and maintain economic development. High unemployment will invariably lead to crime and this will worsen the vicious cycle. The United States, based on its recent policy trajectory with respect to immigration and national security, will undoubtedly continue with its ‘criminal deportee program.’ Under the terms of the agreement with Caribbean nations, which Washington is expected to sign with regional governments within the next two months or so, millions of dollars will be made available to the Caribbean to help set up a social re-integration program (bases on a Haitian model). Also, Washington will be expected to share information with the region on criminal deportees. Time alone will tell how forthcoming and effective the US assistance will be in addressing the growing problem in the region cased by the United States controversial criminal deportee program which commenced in 1997 – ten years ago.