PM: Upcoming summit to tackle crime

The region has taken note of the increasing frequency of violent crimes and intends to address the issue and it's impacts at a summit in April, said the Prime Minister on Thursday.

At the post-Cabinet media briefing at the Diplomatic Centre, St Ann's, Dr Rowley, who returned hours earlier from the Intercessional Heads of Government Meeting in Barbados, said one of the issues discussed at length during the meetings was the growing prevalence of violent crimes.

He said while in the past such incidents could be isolated to certain regions, it was now widespread throughout the region. He said the issue of crime had an impact on health and would be treated as a health issue by the summit.

Rowley said the number of people who are being murdered have increased exponentially across the Caribbean and warranted a unified approach from regional leaders and experts to deal with the issue.

Citing reports of domestic violence and fighting in schools, Rowley lamented that despite the government's best efforts to address the issue, there were little results to be seen.

"We are spending a lot of resources on fighting crime in this country, but the efforts are not bearing the kinds of fruit that we anticipated. There is too much violence in this society and this is a public health issue which needs to be addressed. We can spend all of our resources a year chasing down who did what, but that doesn't end the violence."

He said the conference will feature a host of experts from various backgrounds who will discuss the issues of violence in schools and public life.