Go Lean Commentary
The major problems in the Caribbean are not all due to external factors out of our control – i.e. global economy, international travel and tourism. No, we have some internal issues as well; for example, Crime.
Every Caribbean member-state has an atrocious crime problem that needs to be mitigated and remediated.
“We cannot control what other people do; but we can control how we react” – standard Common Sense wisdom.
“You can’t control other people’s behaviour, but you can control your responses to it.” ― Roberta Cava, Dealing with Difficult People – How to deal with nasty customers, demanding bosses and uncooperative colleagues – See Photo in the Appendix.
This assessment was paramount in the motivation for the 2013 book Go Lean…Caribbean. There was/is a need to consider strategies, tactics and implementations to address the region’s crime problems. This goal is detailed in the book as it serves as a roadmap for the introduction of the technocratic Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU). While the CU is set to optimize Caribbean society through economic empowerment, we must accept the established truth that the security dynamics of the region are inextricably linked to economic endeavors. Therefore the Go Lean roadmap has these 3 prime directives:
- Optimization of the economic engines in order to grow the regional economy to $800 Billion & create 2.2 million new jobs. (Though, not excusing “bad actors”, a lack of jobs is directly related to an increase in crime).
- Establishment of a security apparatus to ensure public safety and protect the resultant economic engines.
- Improve Caribbean governance to support these engines, including a separation-of-powers between member-states and the CU Federal agencies.
All in all, the book recognizes that the quest of these prime directives involves heavy-lifting; they are not easy.
The Go Lean roadmap details a goal to confederate a unified security apparatus for the region’s crime-fighting stakeholders; this will empower a regional Homeland Security technocracy. But Homeland Security for the Caribbean has a different meaning than for our North American or European counterparts. As disclosed in a recent blog-commentary, while the security apparatus must be on defense against military intrusions like terrorism & piracy, it must mostly contend with “bad actors” and threats that may imperil the region’s economic engines. This includes concerns like narco-terrorism and enterprise corruption, plus natural and man-made disasters like hurricanes, earthquakes, oil/chemical spills, etc..
So the Go Lean security goal is mostly for public safety!
If/when a “bad actor” is arrested, there needs to be the full force of the law in enforcing the tenants of the arrest across member-states; (many Caribbean islands are short distances apart, island hopping is a viable option for suspects to avoid justice institutions). This is the point of the Caribbean Arrest Treaty. See more information in this news article here:
News Title: Saint Lucia signs Caribbean arrest treaty
ST. GEORGE’S, Grenada, July 7 – Saint Lucia is among five Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries to have signed the Caribbean Arrest Treaty, one of the regional security instruments that was formulated to enhance cooperation between member states in the fight against crime.Guyana, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, St. Kitts-Nevis, and St. Lucia signed the accord at the 38th Heads of Government summit that ended here on Thursday night.
The objective of the treaty is to establish within the Caribbean Community a system of arrest and surrender of requested persons for the purposes of conducting a criminal prosecution for an applicable offence; or executing a custodial sentence where the requested persons have fled from justice after being sentenced for an applicable offence.
It was first presented in draft form in Guyana earlier this year when that country hosted the CARICOM Inter-Sessional summit in February.
The treaty is one of the regional security instruments that was formulated to enhance cooperation between member states in the fight against crime and to reduce the complexity, cost and delays in the existing extradition arrangements inherent in the region.
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Source: Retrieved July 7, 2017 from The St. Lucia Times Daily Newspaper: https://stluciatimes.com/2017/07/07/saint-lucia-signs-caribbean-arrest-treaty
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VIDEO – CARICOM TO SET UP ARREST TREATY – https://youtu.be/O32MYfCVy7Q
Published on Jul 8, 2016 – Member-states have agreed to work much closer in the area of security, as part of that effort by CARICOM to introduce a regional arrest treaty. Dominica’s Prime Minister, Roosevelt Skeritt, when asked how this treaty would work; explained the process.
Mr. Roosevelt Skeritt told a media briefing on Wednesday evening that the treaty would enhance cooperation between and among law enforcement authorities in the community. Suriname has serious problems constitutionally, where this arrest treaty is concerned. Dominica’s Prime Minister Roosevelt Skeritt explains.
Know that the arrest warrant treaty when it is set up would enhance law enforcement ability to address matters of cross – border crimes. The issue of security held much interest during the life of the Conference because of the important role it played in protecting the society from danger. Mr. Skeritt said…
- Category: News & Politics
- License: Standard YouTube License
This foregoing article and VIDEO describes a treaty that will take more than just words to accede regionally; there will also have to be action, heavy-lifting action that would require a full measure of devotion and commitment; it will require time, talent and treasuries of the member-states.
The book Go Lean…Caribbean – available to download for free – details this commitment. It stresses that reforming and transforming the Caribbean societal engines must be a regional pursuit. This was an early motivation for the roadmap, as pronounced in the opening Declaration of Interdependence (Pages 12 – 13):
x. Whereas we are surrounded and allied to nations of larger proportions in land mass, populations, and treasuries, elements in their societies may have ill-intent in their pursuits, at the expense of the safety and security of our citizens. We must therefore appoint “new guards” to ensure our public safety and threats against our society, both domestic and foreign. The Federation must employ the latest advances and best practices … to assuage continuous threats against public safety.
xi. Whereas all men are entitled to the benefits of good governance in a free society, “new guards” must be enacted to dissuade the emergence of incompetence, corruption, nepotism and cronyism at the peril of the people’s best interest. The Federation must guarantee the executions of a social contract between government and the governed.
xvi. Whereas security of our homeland is inextricably linked to prosperity of the homeland, the economic and security interest of the region needs to be aligned under the same governance. Since economic crimes … can imperil the functioning of the wheels of commerce for all the citizenry, the accedence of this Federation must equip the security apparatus with the tools and techniques for predictive and proactive interdictions.
The Go Lean book provides 370-pages of turn-by-turn instructions on “how” to adopt new community ethos, plus the strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies to execute so as to reboot, reform and transform the societal engines of Caribbean society.
In addition to this regional treaty in the foregoing, there are these other treaties that are urged for promotion and accedence:
- Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency
- Caribbean Basin Security Initiative
- Regional Security System
The Go Lean movement has previously described (in a commentary) the motivations for crime: 1. Need, 2. Greed and 3. Justice. That commentary related, as follows:
So the CU/Go Lean roadmap addresses the issue of more jobs; this will lower the “need” factor for crime; (there is no expectation that these efforts would fully eliminate violent crime; but this start will mitigate the risks). The book relates that with the emergence of new economic drivers, that “bad actors” will also emerge thereafter to exploit the opportunities, with good, bad and evil intent. The second factor, “greed” is tied to opportunities. The executions of the Go Lean roadmap (Page 23) are specifically designed to minimize opportunities for crime with these security mandates:
- Adapt the Ethos: Public Protection over Privacy
- Embrace Electronic Payment Systems – Carry less cash
- Whistleblower Protection – Consider all allegation, anonymous and overt
- Witness Security & Protection – Ensure Justice Process
- Youth Crime Awareness & Prevention; Anti-Bullying and Mitigation – “Nip it in the bud”
- Intelligence Gathering – Universal Video Surveillance
- Light Up the Dark Places – Eliminate the figurative and literal “shadows”
- Prison Industrial Complex – Engage to reduce recidivism
The third contributor, justice, is tied to street riots, civil unrest and other outbursts against perceived injustices. The marching call of many of these movements is “No Justice; No Peace”.
There is therefore the need to do heavy-lifting to mitigate and remediate the Caribbean’s high crime rate. This has been a consistent theme for the Go Lean movement; consider these previous blogs-commentaries:
A regional treaty to enforce and apprehend suspects – those who evade arrest – among a few Eastern Caribbean member-states is a good start …
… the next step must be expanding this to a comprehensive treaty for a regional security apparatus for all 30 member-states; (including the plan to pay for it). This has been identified as a:
Bingo! There it is! This is how it is done! This is the comprehensive plan for the Go Lean roadmap, integrating and consolidating the stewardship for economics, security and governance.
Yes, we can make our homeland a better, safer, place to live, work and play. 🙂
Download the free e-book of Go Lean … Caribbean – now!
Sign the petition to lean-in for this roadmap for the Caribbean Union Trade Federation.
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Appendix – Book Cover: Dealing with Difficult People – How to deal with nasty customers, demanding bosses and uncooperative colleagues
