CHAPTER 3: ADVANCING THE REGION’S SECURITY PRIORITIES TIER 1 THREATS 3.1 Tier 1 Threats are Immediate Significant Threats to the Community and are considered the highest priority for the Community over the next five (5) years. Tier 1 Threats consist of: • • • • • Transnational Organised Crime: Trafficking of Illicit Drugs and Illegal Guns; Gangs and Organised Crime; Cyber-Crime; Financial Crimes; and Corruption. 3.2 Tier 1 threats are high-probability, highimpact events. They are the main drivers of criminality, and have the potential to cripple the already fragile socio-economic developmental progress in CARICOM and the advancement of CSME. Tier 1 threats are the clear and present dangers and the most common source of fear and insecurity in CARICOM, profoundly affecting the daily life and experiences of all citizens. THE RISKS WE FACE CARICOM faces a multiplicity of risks from increasing number of sources in an era where an interconnected world has created great opportunities but also new vulnerabilities and threats that could seriously impact the region’s stability and socio-economic development. The risks to CARICOM states are increasingly numerous and complex. Transnational Organised Crime: Trafifficking of Illicit Drugs and Illegal Guns Gangs & Organised Crime 3.3 The attainment of profit, power and prestige are the primary motivators of the Financial criminality associated with Tier 1 Threats. Cyber Crimes Corruption Crimes Economic disparity, poverty (in some cases aggravated by the current financial crisis), unemployment, governance failures and the corrupt facilitators of criminality provide an enabling environment for Tier 1 Threats. Transnational Organised Crime: Trafficking of Illicit Drugs and Illegal Guns 3.4 The mutually reinforcing relationship between transnational organised criminal activities involving illegal narcotics and weapons influences the evolution of many other risks and threats; the narcotics finance the purchase of weapons, which allow criminals to extort from businesses, intimidate their communities, threaten law enforcement and – in the most severe cases – create civil unrest to try to intimidate the State itself. The general rise in the level of crime and violence also reduces the Community’s ability to respond effectively to other risks and threats. a) Illicit Drugs 3.5 The trade in illegal narcotics is estimated to generate $300 billion in annual profits worldwide (UNODC, 2011). The trafficking of illicit drugs is a key driver of the high homicide rates in the Region; partly because of the effect of the drugs, but mostly because of the money 23