Police Commissioner David Baines at the Marshall Centre for Security Studies
(CNS): Cayman Islands Commissioner of Police David Baines was rubbing shoulders with high-ranking military types last week when he attended a workshop in Europe dealing with international security issues and the links between terrorism, drugs and illicit trafficking. Baines, who is under fire over concerns about the RCIPS’ ability to tackle crime at home and has been criticised for spending too much time abroad, was at the Senior Executive Seminar at the Marshall Centre for Security Studies all of last week talking about terrorism and global security issues.
While robberies, burglaries and other local crimes increase and when the management of the police, the behaviour of officers, the quality of local police work and many more questions regarding competency and efficiency are causing public controversy, Baines was immersed in discussions about global threats on the world stage.
Baines had been invited on the course by Mark Ridley, deputy director of the US Naval Criminal Investigative Service based in Washington DC, but it is not clear who paid for the Cayman CoP to attend the five-day course in southern Germany.
Baines, who was one of 73 delegates from 40 countries, said he needed to find “allies to deal with some serious threats”, not only to Cayman but also in the Caribbean.
The revelation that Baines was on the course did not come from the RCIPS but an article posted on the Marshall Centre’s own website, which quoted Baines as stating that the workshop gave him a better “capability of understanding the complexities involved in the nexus between criminality and terrorism”.
Baines is the first person from the Cayman Islands to attend a course at the military centre, which is named after the famous US general who initiated the post WWII recovery plan for Europe. He said, “Knowing the methodology and the trends that are emerging – at least – allow me to be aware, look for indicators and ask the intelligent questions of my staff so we are better able to recognize the threat. Hopefully, we can do something about it and do our part to work collectively to make it a safer world.”
The five-day seminar showcased lectures from international experts who specialize in terrorism and organized crime and smaller group-discussions. Ridley, who was a speaker at the workshop and encouraged Baines to attend, explained why he wanted the Cayman top cop to go and Baines’ importance to American interests.
“I thought he would benefit from this course not only to strengthen the relationship he has with us (NCIS), but also for him to build relationships with professionals across the globe,” said Ridley, adding that Baines, as the president of the Caribbean Association of Chiefs of Police, has influence with 27 islands in the Caribbean.
“The Caribbean is extremely important to (the US Navy) – it’s a blind spot to us – the Navy does not have the resources in the region that we once we had and it’s really important to us to have people there who we can reach out to for situational awareness,” said Ridley, “We are concerned about regional problems, such as the flow of drugs, guns and bad guys who transit from the Caribbean to the US, which impacts crime in the US.”
Talking about the complexities involved in the serious global threats discussed at the workshop, Baines said the most beneficial part of the seminar was the people he met.
“You develop a trust and relationship with them that will extend way beyond this week,” he stated. “If we don’t have the answer to a particular problem, there are a lot of people here who have a lot of capability and vast amount of experience that you can call on,” Baines added. “It gives us a connectivity that allows us to be more effective for the communities we serve.”
Category: Caribbean, Crime, USA, World News
Open all references in tabs: [1 – 9]