Yesterday, while the government and opposition leaders in Jamaica were preparing to sign a bipartisan anti-crime pact on Tuesday, President Bharrat Jagdeo of Guyana was meeting leaders of the country's private sector to help map out a new "menu of measures" to combat escalating crimes of murder and armed robberies.

Two days earlier, President Jagdeo had separate meetings with top officials of the Guyana Police Force and the Guyana Defence Force.

And in Trinidad and Tobago, where a magistrate and lawyers had to desperately flee a court room on Wednesday after three prisoners stabbed a man minutes after they had just been refused bail, a critical review is being made by the government of Prime Minister Patrick Manning of his National Security Minister's `Operation Anaconda' anti-crime strategy that went into force almost three months ago.

The strategy has failed to produce promised and expected results and the Disciplined Forces continue to face serious problems in their anti-crime battle.

The Trinidad and Tobago Police Force has complained against the government's failure to provide them with, for example, additional security facilities in court, such as appropriate screening devices to check on prisoners in the docks, following reports that the police were likely to come under attacks from criminals even while appearing in court.

In Barbados, Attorney General and Minister of Home Affairs, Mia Mottley has been engaging Police Commissioner, Grantley Watson, in new arrangements and initiatives to be pursued to deal with criminals, including going after those in possession of illegal guns and dangerous weapons and contributing to the crime wave.

In addition to what Head of the Presidential Secretariat in Guyana, Dr. Roger Luncheon, announced as a "menu of crime-fighting measures", involving separately the security forces and the private sector, it was reliably learnt by the Chronicle yesterday that the sensitive issue of corruption in public affairs that could also implicate Police and politicians, was also likely to surface during the scheduled meeting between President Jagdeo and private sector officials.

From Kingston came the report that in addition to seeking to foster a national anti-crime plan, despite their known strong political differences, Prime Minister P.J. Patterson and Opposition Leader Edward Seaga, will also sign off next Tuesday, June 11, on a revised and much strengthened "code of conduct" to govern the behaviour of the country's police.