Police Commissioner to Give ‘Riverside Chat’ at Diaspora Conference

Police Commissioner, Dr. Kevin Blake, will be giving a ‘Riverside Chat’ when the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade hosts its 10th biennial Jamaica Diaspora Conference.

The conference, which is set to run from June 16 to 19, at the Montego Bay Convention Centre in St. James, will see the newly minted Dr. Blake present his plans and perspectives on fighting crime in Jamaica.

Speaking on June 6 at a JIS Think Tank, Minister of State in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Hon. Alando Terrelonge, said persons will benefit from a great conversation of sharing ideas and suggestions on June 17.

“Dr. Blake has great ideas, and we want members of the diaspora to meet with Commissioner Blake, so he will be able to tell them about his vision of ‘Plan Secure Jamaica’. It’ll be a very, very interesting session with him,” Mr. Terrelonge said.

Immediately following the session with Dr. Blake, a plenary will be held to further the dialogue with other key stakeholders.

“It will involve, as well, one of our senior members from the diaspora. In fact, our diaspora lead on national security, Kevin Junior, will be a part of that panel along with some of the more technical persons out of the Ministry of National Security,” the State Minister noted.

He further indicated that the purpose of this approach is to ensure that persons get a broader understanding of the strategies used to fight crime in Jamaica.

“We want when persons are asking the questions they can get better clarity, because there is a great misconception in terms of what Plan Secure Jamaica really means and what we have been doing,” he said.

“So, those are some of the things that we’ll be looking at, as well as the greater use of cybertechnology and technology generally as security and crime-fighting mechanisms,” Mr. Terrelonge said.

For his part, Chairman of the 10th Biennial Jamaica Diaspora Conference, Courtney Campbell, explained that aside from the technological advancements, major emphasis will also be placed on community involvement in fighting crime.

“How do we participate as members of the community in supporting the security forces? What about the roles of grassroots organisations? And then, what’s the significant role of the diaspora and other international partners in helping us to prevent crime,” Mr. Campbell said.

In the meantime, Mr. Terrelonge said the format of the plenary is not to facilitate a talk shop but to really drill down on having the deep dialogue and sharing of views.

“Yes, we will have experts and thought leaders presenting on topics. However, sufficient time will be afforded to members across the diaspora to ask questions. This year, there’s a great focus, not on presentations but it is the dialogue. It is getting the diaspora to ask their questions of the different panellists and give their ideas as well. It is dialogue as opposed to being presented to,” the State Minister said.