THE POLICY of deporting criminals who are not citizens from Britain and the United States, to the Caribbean countries of their birth, is evoking wide discussion throughout the region.

While it can be appreciated that the two countries are no longer prepared to accommodate those who are criminal-minded, but are not citizens, their return often does not make life easier for their "homelands".

Part of the problem stems from the fact that most of these criminals would have honed their criminal skills in the countries from which they have been deported. This can mean that they might be capable of posing a new and different challenge to the law enforcement in their "homelands", when they link up with local criminals.

Attorney-General and Minister of Home Affairs Freundel Stuart drew attention to this problem, referring to it as "contributing to a serious criminal crisis" in the Caribbean, which is forcing regional governments to spend more money on national security.

Stuart, while pointing out that Barbados had not been "particularly affected" by the policy, noted that between 1990 and 2005, the United States and other countries "dumped" more than 30 000 convicted criminals on Jamaica. Apart from this, under a recent agreement, as many as 48 would be deported to Jamaica monthly.

It was not said, however, if these people were citizens of the United States or the countries involved. More than likely they were not. This is why it would have been so easy to deport them. It is no secret that countries all over the world tend to deal harshly with those who are not citizens, but who commit crimes within their borders.

In a number of these cases where countries like the United States and Britain are involved, there would be a likelihood those deported would have been in the country "illegally", often overstaying an earlier welcome.

Stuart might well have had in mind when noting the "serious criminal crisis" the deportees were posing in the region, that these people could be prone to committing gun-related crimes, a trend common in the developed countries from which they were sent.

At one time, our local law enforcement were at a disadvantage when they were not told when deportees would be arriving in the country; and might not even have been told what crimes the deportees had committed. Nowadays there is better communication in this regard.

The fallout from these cases can be heavy. As Stuart noted, some of these deportees "are wrenched from any connection with their families . . . wrenched from any property which they have acquired and unleashed on this region [the Caribbean]".

Where the deportees are prepared to change their ways, they can more often than not, fit into the local society, particularly if they have skills they can use to make an honest living, and can count on the emotional support of family members back here.

However, not all are prepared to make the mental and social adjustment necessary to fit into their new surroundings when they are forced to return to the Caribbean. It is then as Stuart said, they can become "some of the angriest elements walking around the Caribbean today".