GOVERNMENTS of the Caribbean Community (Caricom), through the International Criminal Police Organisation, Interpol, have sought the assistance of South Africa to help deal with the threat of terrorism.

The first batch of 70 South African police officers have already begun to arrive in the region, secretary general of Interpol, Ronald Noble, told reporters during a press conference at the Ministry of National Security in Kingston yesterday.

Having hosted the last ICC Cricket World Cup, the South Africans are expected to share their knowledge of hosting big sporting events with their counterparts in the Caribbean, which is hosting next month’s Cricket World Cup 2007.

According to a release issued by the security ministry, the South Africans will assist regional cops with:

. counter-terrorism operations;

. land-based explosive ordinance devices;

. water-based explosive ordinance devices;

. canine explosive detection;

. hostage negotiations;

. crime scene investigations;

. specialised crime investigation and public order functions; and

. command and control capacity.

According to Noble, police officers from the Interpol headquarters in Lyons, France were also deployed in the region to assist with security operations during the Cricket World Cup. The officers, he said, were based in the twin-island republic of Trinidad and Tobago and have been providing technical assistance since September last year.

Caricom will also benefit from an intelligence-sharing network to assist with border patrol. The network, dubbed CISNET, will provide a secure network for the nine host countries which will be able to share information on suspected criminals.