Security Chiefs from eight (8) regional central banks will discuss issues pertaining to harmonization of procedures, fighting criminal activity, and sharing information and intelligence when they meet in Barbados from May 31 – June 1, 2012.

Participants from the central banks and/or monetary authorities in Jamaica, The Bahamas, Trinidad and Tobago, Suriname, Guyana, Cayman Islands, Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, as well as local law enforcement and Government security agencies will attend this inaugural meeting.

Coordinator of the conference and Chief of Security of the Central Bank of Barbados, Charles Pile, explained that the meeting will cover issues pertaining to regional cooperation, the regional legislative framework as it applies to a central bank’s security operations, security units’ support for departments within a central bank, the preferred officer selection process and the management of emergency situations. There will also be demonstrations on countermeasures and workflow software.

Pile described the meeting as a groundbreaking exercise given the nature of the topics that will be discussed, and the number of central banks that will be represented.

It is planned that this will be an annual exercise hosted on a rotational basis by the participating territories.