By Kisean Joseph
(Antigua Observer) – The Caribbean’s primary crime and security agency will mark 20 years of operation on July 6th, a milestone its leadership said arrives at a moment of unprecedented pressure on the region’s borders.
The confirmation came from Earl Harris, Assistant Director of Corporate Services at CARICOM IMPACS, during the 29th CARICOM Standing Committee of Chiefs of Immigration and Comptrollers of Customs (CICC) meeting held in Antigua this week. Harris used the occasion to reaffirm the agency’s founding principle while acknowledging the increasingly complex environmental threat its member states now face.
“Our communities are protected from transnational organised criminal threats that constantly attempt to penetrate our borders without concealment or regard for sovereignty,” Harris told delegates. “To successfully combat these elements requires collective responsibility and close collaboration, as no single entity has the capacity to do it alone.”
Established in July 2006 at the 27th Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government in St Kitts and Nevis, CARICOM IMPACS serves as the implementation arm of the region’s crime and security framework — overseeing intelligence sharing, border operations, and joint initiatives across member states.
