Regional security chiefs mull rapid response unit, international assistance

Caribbean security chiefs yesterday got down to serious work on the second day of their three-day meeting here and the creation of a regional rapid response unit and request for international assistance to fight rising crime are among several initiatives under active consideration.

Several military and police chiefs from the Caricom 15-member nation bloc are attending the meeting, which opened on Wednesday at Grand Coastal Inn on the East Coast Demerara. The security top brass of the region are meeting at a time when crime and violence have escalated across the region. The meeting has taken on greater significance for Guyana in the wake of the two recent slaughters at Lusignan and Bartica which claimed the lives of 23 people.