Caribbean cops, immigration officials to get anti-human trafficking training

WASHINGTON, USA (CMC) — The Department of Public Security (DPS) of the Organisation of American States (OAS), with funding from the Canadian International Development Agency, is implementing a training programme to train police and immigration officials as well as prosecutors and judges from 13 English-speaking Caribbean countries, in order to increase awareness and support the efforts of law enforcement agencies in combating human trafficking.

A statement from the OAS said that the programme aspires to increase awareness of the crime of trafficking among law enforcement; strengthen the role of police, prosecutors' offices and courts in their capacity to implement laws to combat trafficking; increase the exchange of information between agencies involved in combating human trafficking in the Caribbean region; and strengthen the capacity of law enforcement officers to protect victims.

To do so, the programme — 'Strengthening Capacity of Law Enforcement Officials, Judges and Prosecutors in the Caribbean to Identify and Combat Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children', led by OAS anti-trafficking experts — will train law enforcement personnel in such areas as the distinction between trafficking and smuggling; crime scene management; victim identification, assistance and protection; and standard operating procedures for immigration control.

The DPS expects to train at least 50 Dominican police officials, prosecutors and judges in this two-day training course.

Trafficking in persons is a modern-day form of slavery and a violation of basic human rights involving not only coercive sexual exploitation, but also forced labour, involuntary servitude, and child soldiers, among others.