Under the scope of UNDP’s CariSECURE Project, the government of Suriname launched a National Task Force to improve the way law-enforcement agencies use data for violence and crime prevention policy making. The eight-member Task Force was announced by His Excellency Ferdinand Welzijn, Minister of Justice and Police, on February 12, in Paramaribo. Members include staff from Suriname’s Police Department, Prison Department, Bureau of Statistics and the Ministry of Justice and Police.

Also, Ambassador Edwin Nolan, United States Ambassador to Suriname, Mr. Armstrong Alexis, Deputy Resident Representative for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Suriname, and Mr. Paolo Del Mistro, Team Leader for CariSECURE attended the launch.

Following the launch, the Task Force and other delegates reviewed CariSECURE’s Caribbean Citizen Security Toolkit and tailored its components to the crime and violence prevention needs of Suriname. Key instruments of the Toolkit include a Terms of Reference, Data Sharing Agreement, and Guidance Note.

“The establishment of the CariSECURE National Task Force is a crucial step to improving citizen security in Suriname,” said Mr. Del Mistro. “By working together to implement evidence-based decision-making tools in their agencies, the Task Force will play a key role to ensure that policy-makers are equipped with the information they need to target crime from where it starts.”

To secure the sustainability of CariSECURE, project will support the National Task Force through training and eventually seek Cabinet approval of the Toolkit in Suriname. By 2020, project participating countries, including Suriname, will use evidence-based decision making to develop and approve policies and programmes supported with national budgetary allocations. This decision making will effectively target crime and violence risk factors, thereby contributing to the reduction of crime and violence in the Eastern and Southern Caribbean.

CariSECURE represents a partnership between the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and UNDP, made possible through the generous support of the American People.  For more information, please visit: http://www.bb.undp.org/content/barbados/en/home/operations/projects/democratic_governance/CariSECURE.html