Caribbean police forces have developed a plan to share intelligence on terrorist movements to ensure the region does not become a soft target for attacks, Association of Caribbean Commissioners of Police (ACCP) Francis Forbes said yesterday.

And cutting off access to laundered cash would seriously hamper the ability of terrorists to carry out their attacks, he said.

Speaking after the end of the ACCP annual conference in Bermuda, Mr. Forbes said terrorists view tourist destinations as soft targets and police had to be pro-active to stop them hitting the region.

"We were able to form a plan to start sharing information about the movement of terrorists, how they seek to gain access to movements of cash between those who support terrorism, and the terrorists themselves," he said. "One objective was to make commissioners in the region aware of the status of this threat to security, and although we can't share all the information received, suffice it to say it has brought us to a heightened state of awareness.

"We understand that if we prevent terrorist activity being funded, its a huge weapon that can be very effective in fighting against terrorism."

Mr. Forbes, the Commissioner of Police in Jamaica, added: "Coming out of the conference has made us more aware and prepared to continue dealing with the issues of terrorism. "This region as a tourist destination does not have a major problem with terrorism just now, but we are not going to be caught cold, so we are making every effort to be pro-active because terrorists see destinations like these as soft targets.

"We also had some discussion centred around target hardening, doing things to discourage them being attracted to our region."Bermuda Police Commissioner Jonathan Smith later said there was no evidence of terrorists using Bermuda to launder funds for attacks or using the Island as a base.

"Over the last couple of years our awareness has continued to be raised about how these terrorist organisations work, and how some are funded," said Mr. Smith. "We looked at what activities might be taking place in a country that might be supporting terrorism. There has been an increased awareness of how these organisations work and conferences like these keep us informed because we get specific briefings on the subject.

"In Bermuda, we find ourselves working ever more closely with the FBI, with cruise ship security, and with our security contacts overseas." The six day conference began at the Fairmont Hamilton hotel last Thursday and ended yesterday.

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