Anyone who has watched a true crime documentary or crime drama special, appreciates the fascination and intrigue of trying to understand the criminal mind. But, what if through understanding crime, we could help prevent it right here in the Caribbean? This is the goal of the USAID-funded CariSECURE Project and they are one step closer to achieving it!

The five-year project which was launched in 2016 and championed by USAID and UNDP Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, is designed to improve youth crime and violence policy-making and programming in the Southern and Eastern Caribbean through the use of quality, comparable and reliable national citizen security information. Now in its final year, project beneficiaries are seeing the tangible fruits of their labor.

In Grenada, law enforcement officers have commenced the production of Crime Analysis reports with an analysis done on Homicide occurring in 2020 looking at victim demographics. By identifying those most likely to be targeted and the situations surrounding these violent crimes, strategies and policies can be developed to protect these individuals. The data may be the first line of defence against violent crimes.

By using the Police Incident Form (PIF) to capture data, the team in Grenada has begun using its crime analysis process to extrapolate victim demographics as well as other critical information as it relates to the 13 homicides recorded on the island in 2020. These findings over time will be used to identify trends which can then be further investigated to determine any causal links or influencing factors which, once identified, can be remedied.

So what did the Grenada analysis find? It was revealed that more males were killed than females, and that the majority of homicides occurred in dwelling houses. In addition to identifying districts where the crimes occurred, the findings also revealed that “Friday” experienced the highest incident of homicide. Understanding this data can assist the Grenada Police Force, apply real world analytic driven solutions that may reduce these any other types of crimes.

Speaking on this tangible use of the project, Wayne Wilson ASP, ICT Manager (RGPF) applauded the work of the project and the invaluable support of USAID. He stated “Grenada has commenced the production of much more detailed crime analysis reports, evident in the analysis done on Homicides occurring in 2020. What we have seen is an improvement and a much more in-depth approach to Crime Analysis.”

Adding that the impacts of the project will continue to grow, the ICT Manager noted, “Our local team having been given the necessary training and tools, further enables us to have a much more scientific approach to how we look at crime statistics. Officers are more than ever, better informed to make the best possible strategic and policy decisions in order to reduce crime.”

This is a great win for the project, and Grenada’s mantra of “embracing technology towards a safer society” is more apt than ever before.