It is, perhaps, a well kept national secret that the Citizen Security Programme (CSP), funded by the Inter-American Development bank (IDB) and the T&T Government, has been active in this country over the past few years, working to reduce crime and violence at the community level.
Co-ordinator Gregory Sloane-Seale said the programme got going in April 2008 with the signing of a loan agreement for US$24.5 million–70 per cent of the budget needed to operate the programme–with the other 30 per cent coming from the Government. The six-year programme costs US$35 million.
"In the design phase we worked closely with various stakeholders and also the T&T Police Service because they would have had a lot of the data and contextual data regarding crime, violence and related issues. We had to determine which communities we would focus on during the six year period," Sloane-Seale explained.In the design phase of the programme, the focus was on 22 communities and as it comes to a close in 2014, the CSP and IDB have recorded the following achievements:
�2 Murders in CSP communities reduced by 54 per cent between 2008 and 2012. There was a national reduction of 31 per cent for this same period.
�2 Woundings and shootings in CSP communities down by 41 per cent between 2008 and 2012, while the national reduction was 13 per cent.
�2 Sexual offences in CSP communities reduced by four per cent between 2008 and 2012. In that same period, there was a national increase of 35 per cent.
CSP is not a social work programme. It provides services to communities. Community action officers are chosen to lead the rebuilding exercise or outreach, so CSP officials are not directly involved in service delivery to th communities."We started a process of identifying leaders or people who wanted to take an active role in changing their communities. We set up what is called Community Action Councils, really made up of a diverse group of persons from within the community, between 15 and 20 individuals.
Within our unit we have what we call community action officers and they work on behalf of the CSP to bridge the gap between the Community Action Councils and the programme," Sloane-Seale said.The challenges facing communities range from domestic violence and child abuse, he said: "When it becomes apparent to us that these things exists in communities that we've partnered with, what we do is that we then refer these situations to the relevant agencies, like National Family Services."
The group hopes the project will be extended to 2015 since there is more work to be done. "We are working from a developmental, transformative perspective," Sloane-Seale saidDana King, IDB's Modernisation of the State Specialist, Institutional Capacity and Finance Sector, said the reason for funding the programme is to improve the quality of life in countries where the agency operates.
"We piloted it first in Jamaica and we wanted to see if it would work also in the Trinbagonian context. We do finance activities in the communities. The goal of the project is to reduce crime and violence. It is a strategic crime prevention programme."King said the IDB was proud to be part of the project because "we've found something that does work".
"It works at a relatively low cost to the Government and it has a sustainability factor. What we are doing is that we are really arming these communities with the skills and the relationships to continue to prevent and reduce crime in their communities," she said.King said the goal is to communities in coming together as a body, then developing their skills to develop solutions to address their issues. Self-sufficiency is the final goal for the communities so they are not dependent on funding from IDB.
"Every community has access to the same amount of resources, all of them have access to the TT $90,000 to do an initial project," King said.
About the IDB
Established in 1959, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) is the leading source of development financing for Latin America and the Caribbean, with a strong commitment to achieve measurable results, increased integrity, transparency and accountability.
The bank has an evolving reform agenda that seeks to increase our development impact in the region.While the IDB is a regular bank in many ways, it is also unique in some key respects.
Besides loans, the bank also provide grants, technical assistance and do research. Its shareholders are 48 member countries, including 26 Latin American and Caribbean borrowing members, who have a majority ownership of the IDB.The IDB's Fund for Special Operations (FSO) provides concessional financing to its most vulnerable member countries. Given its shareholder base and prudent management, the bank has a strong financial position.
As a result, the IDB is able to borrow in international markets at competitive rates and transfer that benefit to its clients.
CSP COMMUNITIES
TRINIDAD
Beetham Gardens
Patna/River Estate, Diego Martin
Cocorite
Pinto Road, Arima
Covigne Road, Diego Martin
Dibe/Belle Vue/Dundonald Hill
Embacadere, San Fernando
Enterprise, Chaguanas
Farm Road, St Joseph
Gonzales, Belmont
La Romaine
Mon Repos, Morvant
Mt D'or Road, Champs Fleurs
Never Dirty, Morvant
Sogren Trace, Laventille
St Barb's, Laventille
North Eastern Settlement, Quashe Trace, Sangre Grande
Samaroo Village/ Mootoo Lands
TOBAGO
Bethel
Bon Accord
Glen Road/Darrel Spring