Organised crime and security threats in Caribbean Small Island Developing States: A Critical analysis of US assumptions and policies

Abstract

The prevailing attitude of international legal institutions is that drug trafficking remains a dominant organised crime, which presents a major security threat to all nations, including the US. While US assumptions and policies on organised crime and its control are embodied and codified by international laws which reflect the US war on drugs from the 1970s onwards, there is a dearth of interdisciplinary works which challenge the application of such policies in small island developing states (SIDS). The purpose of this paper is to critically analyse the exportation of organised crime control policies from the US to Caribbean SIDS, in light of the dichotomy which exists between these countries in identifying security threats, and to generate evidence-informed soft policy implications. Through an analysis of empirical research data (gathered in Jamaica), combined with the examination of US backed policies and assumptions, it can be concluded that international policies adopted by Caribbean SIDS are inappropriate and not fit for purpose, given the local conditions of organised crime security threats in these countries. Moreover, the research shows that it is the illicit trafficking of firearms from the US to Caribbean SIDS which remains the most challenging issue faced by regional law enforcement officers.