On Monday 13 June 2016, four members of the Turks and Caicos Islands Government participated in a week long training entitled “Introduction to the Human Trafficking Phenomenon” hosted by INTERPOL in Montego Bay, Jamaica.
Assistant Superintendent Willet Harvey, Detective Inspector Ennis Grant, Senior Immigration Officer Derek Ingham and Public Prosecutor Shatelia Hall, attended the first of a 7 week course with an initiative in Combatting Human Trafficking.
INTERPOL is the world’s largest international police organization consisting of 190 member countries, of which Turks and Caicos is a part. The organization aims to connect police agencies around the world in an effort to understand crime trends, analyse and share information which can ultimately lead to capture and arrest of criminals.
With the assenting of the Turks and Caicos “Trafficking in Persons” Legislation, this training allowed room for the participants to Identify Human Trafficking, Participate in Case studies, discuss different approaches in battling Human Trafficking and also to conduct a presentation on effect of Human Trafficking in the Turks and Caicos.
Other countries represented were Jamaica, Belize, Trinidad & Tobago, Guyana and Barbados, each country has had Human Trafficking laws in place for an extended period with successful prosecution. The Turks & Caicos team members have created networks with the participants in an effort to have global support.
Within the weeks to come training will become more intense focusing on the immigration standpoint, the policing standpoint and successful prosecution.
Participants that represented the TCI received their initial certificate and will be moving forward to the second training week. The team has planned to create a working group and action plan. At the end of the seventh week of training, members will become certified to train other agencies, enforcement agencies and support agencies, in identifying human trafficking, the trafficker and the victim.