Local law enforcement train in cyber-crime combat

By VonDez Phipps
Reporter-SKNVibes.com

Instructor of the Cyber Training Programme Michael Alcorn

BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – Law enforcement and government officials along with Information Technology specialists convened at the Royal St. Kitts Marriott Resort for a three-day conference which addressed Digital Investigations and Security in the region.

The discussions began on Tuesday, October 21 and drew participants from over 8 countries of the region and sensitised them on new approaches in identifying and investigating ‘cybercrime’ with the hope of reducing or eliminating its effects.

The programme was jointly organized by the Ministry of National Security, Immigration and Foreign Affairs in collaboration with the US Embassy and US Diplomatic Security Service, and gained technical support from the Office of Anti-terrorism Assistance.

Instructor of the Cyber Training Programme Michael Alcorn, who has over 25 years experience dealing with cybercrime in the US State Department, explained that the programme was an overview on cyber-terrorism but also includes an overview of cybercrime in general. 

He told SKNVibes that the sessions underlined various issues in relation to what management, law enforcement and top officials

Inspector Cromwell Henry, Public Relations Officer of the Royal St.Christopher and Nevis Police Force

need to consider as the internet becomes more and more pervasive.

“The programme gives a high level overview of cybercrime and cyber-terrorism to police administrators and allows them to see the many different aspects of how the internet and computers are used to facilitate crime and terrorism. 

We touched on a lot of issues such as communication and focussed on capacity building within our own organizations to combat these new types of crime that the world is facing.

“Part of what we covered is how mobile a criminal or terrorist can be and how that person can set up shop in just about any place in the world. In this region, it is important to understand that maybe somebody who looks like a tourist may very well be conducting operations whether criminal or terrorism related.”

Inspector Cromwell Henry, Public Relations Officer of the St. Christopher and Nevis Police Force said the programme would definitely assist local police in investigations.

“The world is becoming smaller through technology and criminals are making use of the electronic means to commit crimes, and so the police need to be a step ahead of the criminals. What happens in the US may very well happen here. We are at an advantage, as we can learn from the mistakes made in the US. This course is timely as it exposes us to the new trends in criminal activity and prepares us for dealing with these types of crime.”