Crime is an increasingly international concern said Police Commissioner Jonathan Smith at the opening of the Association of Caribbean Commissioners of Police (ACCP) Conference yesterday.

He said countries were under threat from illegal immigration, drug trafficking, money laundering, terrorism and cyber crime.

"There's a real reality check here. We are having to Police at four different levels. International level, the regional level, the national level and the local level."

He said the conference would provide solutions through international cooperation.

The conference is being attended by representatives from Interpol, the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Agency, the UK Police force and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

ACCP President Francis Forbes, who is Jamaica's Police Commissioner, told the audience at the Fairmont Hamilton Princess that counter intelligence showed different countries were often facing the same criminal foes, particularly in drugs.

He said: "We are sandwiched between those countries which produce drugs and those countries which have an insatiable appetite for drugs."

Home Affairs and Public Safety Minister Terry Lister urged Mr. Smith to grab every new idea going in the conference to see if it could help Bermuda.