Georgetown: The rate of crimes has been dropping steadily despite the perception being portrayed by some sections of the media and elements of society. Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum explained that actual figures show that crime is not spiraling out of control.
“Our position is that, at one point in time, during the year 2015, we were at a 14% increase in serious crimes, when you compare 2015 with 2014. Our present position now is that we are at 6% increase. Two weeks ago, we were at an 8% increase, so basically it dispels this whole notion that it is spiraling out of control.”
The Guyana Police Force has undertaken several initiatives to boost its capacity and capability towards crime fighting efforts, the Crime Chief pointed out. These include additional training for officers and others, locally and overseas. For example, he said that more ranks have been inducted as detectives and are undergoing the requisite training, with assistance from international stakeholders. All ranks, he added, are or will be given continuous training opportunities to upgrade their various skills, and enhance their capacity.
Only recently, Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan told GINA that staff of the Police Force Forensic Laboratory will continue to be trained, as Government recognises the serious role forensics play in solving crime. Continuous training of key personnel at the facility is critical to maintaining the integrity and credibility of its officers, its specimens and its results. Efforts are also being made to train the staff to respond to defend their results in a Court of Law. Meanwhile more use of intelligence resources has also led to several breakthroughs in solving a higher number of crimes. The force’s push for better community relations via interventions such as the Community Impact Programmes and the its Cops and Faith Initiative have also realised better results in its crime fighting efforts.
The 2015 National Budget has allocated $350M to ensure that police stations countrywide are fully equipped with the requisite resources to fight crime and respond promptly to calls by residents.
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