Operation Future and Regina Anti-Gang Services are featured speakers at Four Day CARICOM Sub-Regional Meeting on Youth Gangs and Violence in Georgetown, Guyana

File photo of Dan Mc Mullin

ZIZ News…Oct 6, 2011 – Over four days representatives from St Kitts & Nevis, Belize, Trinidad & Tobago, Jamaica and Guyana are addressing topics such as Gangs – Culture, Code and Consequences on Families and Communities and the importance of early intervention and community education in developing strategies to address the rising gang problems.

Among those making presentations at the conference are members of Operation Future P.C. Lauston Percival and Dan MacMullin of St. Kitts and Nevis. Other presentations were made by Ms Jacqui Wasacase of Regina Anti-Gang Services (RAGS) and Chief of Regina Police Services Troy Hagen.

In addition to presentations P.C. Percival, Mr. MacMullin, Ms. Wasacase and Chief Hagen facilitated workshops with stakeholders from the represented nations of CARICOM in discussing and developing strategies for gang awareness, early intervention, gang exit programs and community police relations.

This four day work shop is part of the development of a Caribbean Community Action Plan for Social Development and Crime Prevention that began in 2009 with a goal of a comprehensive program being fully implemented by 2013.

The facilitators for this particular workshop were identified following the youth, crime and violence symposium “Rescue from the Abyss – Bringing our Children out of the Gangs” which was hosted by Operation Future at the University of Medicine and Health Sciences in August.

Ms. Beverly Reynolds of CARICOM attended this conference and having seen the work being conducted by Operation Future in St. Kitts & Nevis, the RAGS program in Canada and the approach taken by Regina Police Service in the area of community policing viewed these programs as “best practices” and asked the participants to be presenters and facilitators at this important regional conference.

Operation Future is proud of their work in the area of early intervention, and that their proactive work is being identified as a “best practice” in this important area and being asked to share their program regionally.

They are also particularly pleased that it was Operation Future and the Federation of St Kitts and Nevis that hosted the conference that lead to the identification of organizations such as RAGS and Regina Police Services by CARICOM as potential resources that can be called upon to assist in addressing the problems of youth crime and violence.