“The more we educate, the less we investigate” is one of the phrases used in Jamaica that was shared from the outset by one of the 30 participants of the Workshop on Criminal Justice Capacities on Cybercrime and Electronic Evidence and accession to the Budapest Convention, held between 25-26 March 2021 with national authorities of Jamaica.

The two-day workshop was jointly organised by the Caribbean Community Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (CARICOM IMPACS) and the Council of Europe in the framework of the Octopus Project, which aims primarily at providing assistance to criminal justice authorities from the countries willing to implement the Budapest Convention on Cybercrime, its Protocols and related standards.

The event was attended by representatives from the Public Prosecution, Ministry of National Security, Jamaica Constabulary Force, Ministry of Justice, as well as the US Department of Justice, the Organization of American States (OAS), CARICOM IMPACS and the Council of Europe. This activity was the second one in a series of domestic workshops to be organized in the Caribbean region.

Long-term strategic approaches to related domestic policies and action plans have been discussed in light of international developments in the field (such as the negotiations on the future Second Additional Protocol to the Budapest Convention), existing general challenges worldwide (such as admissibility of electronic evidence, lack of standard operating procedures in place, need for more capacity building and training, collection of statistics) and international cooperation challenges. Also, the current status of the cybercrime legislation in Jamaica, recommended actions and the way ahead have been in the focus of the discussions. The workshop was also an opportunity for representatives of national authorities in Jamaica to get more familiarized with the capacity building efforts conducted worldwide by the Council of Europe through its Cybercrime Programme Office (C-PROC), as well as to share priority areas of desired cooperation in this regard.

Through the Octopus Project, the Council of Europe will continue to provide support to countries in the Caribbean region for legislative alignment with the international standards promoted by the Budapest Convention on Cybercrime, as well as to guide the process of accession to the Treaty.

T-CY Report (July 2020): The Budapest Convention on Cybercrime: Benefits and impact in practice (.pdf)

 T-CY Negotiations: Second Additional Protocol to the Budapest Convention

 US DOJ website 

 OAS website 

 CARICOM IMPACS website 

 Octopus Project webpage