DAAS Research and Development Committee 2005 Annual Report
December 29, 2005 Prepared by Dr. Peter K. B. St. Jean, and L. Daisy Henderson
Committee Members, and Positions
Dr. Peter K. B. St. Jean: International Chair
Daisy Henderson: Vice International Chair
Jo-Anne George: Grantmaker, Local Chair
Dr. Sam Christian: Assistant Grantmaker
Burgess Xavier: Technology Coordinator,
Vice Local Chair
Earl Vector: Member
Clemon George: Member
2005 Accomplishments
Research:
Dominica Prison
Dr. St. Jean and L. Daisy Henderson began during the summer of 2005 to develop a database of Dominica prison inmates and the communities from which they came. The prison officials did not have the information arranged electronically and the hard copies are still being entered into Excel. The data will be used for future research.
Community Policing
Dr. St. Jean continues to work closely with members of the Dominica Police Force, and Hon. Rayburn Blackmoore to implement community policing in Dominica. At the moment, a draft community policing plan is still being drafted. We expect some conspicuous headway in 2006.
Donation
At 9:30am on Wednesday, August 10th 2005, DAAS Research and Development Committee and Burgcom.com donated a 14 feet inflatable boat (dinghy) to the Dominica Government and Dominica Police Force, for exclusive use of patrolling the waters in the Portsmouth area. Burgcom paid for the shipping of the dinghy from Miami to Dominica, and will also cover the cost for painting “Donated by Dominica Academy of Arts and Sciences (DAAS) Research and Development Committee, & Burgcom.com” on both sides (port and starboard) of the dinghy.
DAAS was represented at the handing over
ceremony by DAAS President, Dr.Clayton Shillingford; Research and Development
Committee (R&D)Vice Local Chair and Technology Coordinator, Burgess Xavier;
and DAAS R&D Committee International Chair, Dr. Peter K.B. St. Jean.
Cabinet Secretary, Felix Gregoire accepted the dinghy on behalf of the Dominica
Government; Superintendent Nicholas George (Roseau Central), Inspector Andrew (Police
PRO), and Commander Fredrick (Coastguard Commander), spoke on the behalf of the
Police Commissioner and the Dominica Police Force. Dr. Shillingford indicated
that the R & D donation was yet another mark of the important contribution
that the Dominica Diaspora is making to national development. Those words were
echoed by Mr.Gregoire as well as all the police representatives. Burgess Xavier
added that this sort of donation is a perfect example of the type of initiative
that his internet and commerce company seeks to support. He asked other local
businesses to continue their support of DAAS and other similar nation building
and national security efforts. Commissioner Fredrick thanked DAAS for the
donation which will be added to the Dominica Coast Guard fleet, and help with
combating crimes on our waters. Several members of the print, radio, and
television media were present at the event. (See
attached pictures).
Although the dinghy was valued at $5,000.00, the committee was able to obtain it for US$1,000.00 after Dr. St. Jean negotiated various discounts.
Publications
Refereed Journal
St. Jean, Peter K. B. 2006. (forthcoming) “Explaining Strained
Community-Police Relations in a Racially and Ethnically Homogeneous Community:
Grand Bay, Dominica.” Journal of
Ethnicity in Criminal Justice. This paper has already been submitted and
accepted for publication. Updates will be provided upon release of the journal
volume
Book Chapters
St. Jean, Peter K. B. 2006 (forthcoming). “More Money, More Crime? Trends
in Dominica over the Past Two Decades.” Chapter
submitted and accepted for inclusion in a manuscript on crime in the Caribbean,
and edited by Jamaican natives and criminologists Dr. Marlyn Jones and Anthony
Harriott. The full citation will be
provided when available.
St. Jean, Peter K.B., Irving Andre, and L. Daisy Henderson. 2006.
(forthcoming) “Prison in Paradise: The Historical and Legal Foundations of
Prison in Dominica.” Chapter submitted
and accepted for inclusion in a manuscript on crime in the Caribbean, and
edited by Jamaican natives and criminologists Dr. Marlyn Jones and Anthony Harriott. The full citation will be provided when
available.
Academic
Presentations
Dr. St. Jean and L. Daisy Henderson will be among scholars participating in the 2006 4th International Conference on Crime and Justice in the Caribbean being held at UWI, St. Augustine, Trinidad between February 8-11th. The conference theme is, “New Challenges in Crime and Justice – From Research to Policy. Their presentations are titled as follows:
“Neighborhood Organizing for Crime Prevention: Implications of U.S. Research for Caribbean Settings” by L. Daisy Henderson
“More money More Crime: Trends in Dominica over the last 21 Years” by Peter K. B. St. Jean
“Much Harder Than it Seems: Lessons from Almost 10 Years of Attempting to Implement Community Policing in Dominica” by Peter K. B. St. Jean
“The Impact of Incarceration on Neighborhoods and Communities in Chicago, Buffalo and the Caribbean Island of Dominica” by Peter K. B. St. Jean
Anyone interested in further information on the conference can find such information on the designated website
Budgetary
and Fundraising Statement
The R & D Committee began 2005 with a balance of $1,011.48 in the DAAS account. The cost of the dinghy ($1,000.00) was subtracted from that total, leaving a balance of $11.48. The Committee hopes to raise more funds for its functioning in the near future.
Outstanding Debts
· US$382.68 refund to Dr. St. Jean for purchase of the equipment for the police – as mentioned in the 2004 Annual Report.
· EC$200.00 refund to Dr. St. Jean for advance he provided to Ms. George for the payment of the research assistants for preliminary research.
Dr. St. Jean has set no time deadline by which he should be reimbursed.
Plans
for 2006 and Beyond
· Participate in the 2006 Grand Bay Reunion which, among several other events, will feature the 10th year anniversary of Dr. St. Jean’s research in the community, resulting in the implementation of the first community policing program in Dominica.
· Submit more publications on results from the 2004 Dominica Opinion Survey and 2003 Prison Survey.
· Strengthen the Committee
· Generate more funds for the Committee’s research efforts
· Make professional presentations based on lessons learned from the participatory action research that Dr. St. Jean is currently undertaking with DAAS.
Comments
We are thankful for the efforts that each member has placed in this Committee. Committee members are reminded that they should be vigilant in leading efforts to seek funds and complete research and development projects. We consider any research that members conduct in reference to our Dominica people a part of this Committee’s work if the member submits it accordingly. We look forward to a productive 2006.
Completed and Submitted by Dr. Peter K. B. St. Jean and L. Daisy Henderson.
December 29th 2004
SIGNED