Minister Dacosta Advances Regional Cooperation on Rehabilitation and Crime Reduction

Minister for District Administration and Home Affairs, the Hon. Nickolas DaCosta, JP, MP, reinforced the Cayman Islands Government's commitment to effective offender rehabilitation, regional criminal justice cooperation and safer communities during recent engagements with probation, parole and correctional leaders in the Turks and Caicos Islands.

Minister DaCosta joins regional Ministers, probation and parole leaders and conference representatives at the 3rd Annual CAPP Conference in Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands.

At the 3rd Annual Caribbean Association of Probation and Parole Conference (CAPP), held in Providenciales from 2 to 4 September 2026, Minister DaCosta led a Cayman Islands delegation that engaged with regional leaders and criminal justice professionals on approaches to probation, parole, offender rehabilitation, community supervision and reintegration.

The conference was held under the theme "Leveraging Probation, Parole and Rehabilitation as Effective Crime-Reduction Strategies in the Caribbean." The programme examined how effective supervision, rehabilitation and reintegration can reduce reoffending and strengthen public safety across the region.

During the Regional Leaders Panel Discussion on 2 September, Minister DaCosta joined the Hon. Shellya Rogers-Webster of Anguilla; the Hon. Kiz Johnson of Antigua and Barbuda; Councillor Ackel Franklyn of Tobago; and the Hon. Shaun D. Malcolm of the Turks and Caicos Islands. The panel considered and spoke to national crime-reduction strategies, opportunities for regional cooperation, and the long-term development of CAPP.

Minister DaCosta outlined the Cayman Islands' work to strengthen the full offender-management pathway, including closer joint case management between His Majesty's Cayman Islands Prison Service (HMCIPS) and the Department of Community Rehabilitation (DCR), structured release and reintegration, modernisation of relevant legislation and policy, and coordinated management of the highest-risk cases through Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA).

"Public protection does not begin and end at the prison gate. Our focus is on making the whole system around the individual work together – from custody and rehabilitation through structured release, community supervision and successful reintegration," Minister DaCosta said.

Conference sessions addressed case planning, youth and family engagement, justice-sector data governance, alternatives to incarceration, trauma-informed probation, evidence-based parole systems, gun-violence reduction and successful reintegration. The Minister also emphasised the importance of measuring whether programmes and supervision strategies are reducing risk, reoffending, and harm.

The Cayman Islands delegation identified opportunities for continued regional collaboration on professional standards, Caribbean-specific evidence, specialist training, outcome measurement, and lawful cross-border information sharing. The engagements also provided practical examples of structured community supervision and custody-to-community continuity that can inform ongoing work in the Cayman Islands.

"No jurisdiction has all the answers, and no jurisdiction needs to develop every answer alone," Minister DaCosta said. He continued, "By sharing evidence and expertise and remaining focused on outcomes, we can build stronger probation and rehabilitation systems and safer communities across the region."

Minister DaCosta (front row, third from left) and delegates attend a conference session at the 3rd Annual CAPP Conference.

Following the conference, the Ministry of District Administration and Home Affairs and the Department of Community Rehabilitation will review the approaches presented and consider how the most relevant lessons can support ongoing work to strengthen rehabilitation, reintegration, risk management and outcome measurement in the Cayman Islands. The Ministry will also continue engaging with CAPP officials and regional partners on areas where shared expertise and practical cooperation can add value.

Accompanying Minister DaCosta in Providenciales were Deputy Chief Officer Lisa Malice; Acting Director of the Department of Community Rehabilitation Melissa Rivas; Senior Probation Officer Shakira Davis; and Administrative Officer Abigail Perez.

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