Dr. Peter Phillips, chairman of the Advisory Committee of the Centre for National Security and Strategic Studies, and Jamaica's Minister of National Security. - Rudolph Brown/Chief Photographer

Dr. Peter Phillips, chairman of the Advisory Committee of the Centre for National Security and Strategic Studies, says the Caribbean region has failed to provide the necessary resources needed to reduce the level of crime and violence.

"We have failed as a region to devote any serious intellectual resources to the tackling of this problem," he said on Thursday, while addressing the official launch of the Centre for National Security and Strategic Studies, a regional initiative based at the University of the West Indies (UWI).

"We have also failed to devote the sufficient component of our national and regional financial and human resources to the solutions that are necessary to solve this problem," he told the gathering at the UWI.

Dr. Phillips, who is also Jamaica's Minister of National Security, said the failure to provide the necessary resources has impaired the capacity of Caribbean people to enjoy the quality of life that they deserve.

In outlining the functions of the centre, Senior Superintendent Dormah Harrison said the centre is to conduct basic and relevant research with a view of providing a better understanding of the security problems affecting the Caribbean.

He noted that it will also seek to cover areas such as organised crime, counterterrorism, maritime security cooperation, military support, and regional joint cooperation and training.

SSP Harrison said students and researchers, who will conduct work at the centre, will be drawn from the senior and mid-management level of the security forces, including customs and immigration.

In his remarks, Keith Renaud, secretariat manager of Caribbean Commissioners of Police, hailed the conceptualisers of the centre, and noted that the centre could build law enforcement capacity in the region, and promote and deepen the regional integration process.

The centre began its leg work in 2005 by offering a master's degree in National Safety and Strategic Studies.