The judiciary is independent. The Royal St. Vincent Police, the only security force in the country, includes a coast guard and a small Special Services Unit with some paramilitary training. The force is controlled by and responsive to the Government, but police continued to commit some human rights abuses. St. Vincent has a market-based economy. Much of the labor force is engaged in agriculture, in particular, banana production.
Bananas are the leading export and a major source of foreign exchange earnings.
However, the banana industry is declining, and the growing tourism sector is becoming the leading earner of foreign exchange. Human rights are generally well respected. The principal human rights problems continued to include occasional instances of excessive use of force by police, the Government's failure to punish adequately those responsible for such abuses, poor prison conditions, and an overburdened court system. Violence against women and abuse of children also were problems. There were no reports of political killings.