Government's active role in crime fighting
Georgetown, GINA, April 23, 2003
Recent false reports circulating suggest that
Government has not done anything meaningful to curb the crime
situation in Guyana.
Government has showcased what they have done and what they will
do to minimize crime in Guyana.
A number of measures were initiated by President Bharrat Jagdeo
on June 7, 2002 to deal with the crime situation, as follows:
(a) $100M released to the Guyana Police Force to improve its weaponry,
protective gears and equipment, transportation and communication
facilities.
(b) A comprehensive reform of the Intelligence Sector has commenced
with support from Scotland yard, to aid in strengthening the intelligence
gathering to support the fight against crime, narco-trafficking
and threats of internal security.
(c) Comprehensive Amendments made to existing legislation on crime
to toughen existing penalties for criminal activities, and to
make prosecutions and convictions easier.
(d) Community Policing groups are benefiting from the establishment
of a dedicated unit based in the office of the Commissioner of
Police.
(e) Speedy issuance of gun licenses to eligible citizens, especially
in the business community.
Joint operations between the Police and the Army including Operation
Tourniquet and Plaster of Paris.
However, President Jagdeo, over the weekend in an interview with
GINA, has indicated that more effort is needed to obtain results,
" we have the capacity in the Police and the Army to do so.
I am very unhappy that it is not being done." The President
also expressed dissatisfaction with the work of the local security
forces and that existing strategies have to be reconsidered. These
strategies will be reevaluated to seek the most positive and probable
solutions in fighting crime. The Minister of Home Affairs Ronald
Gajraj; Commissioner of Police (ag) Floyd McDonald and the Chief
of Staff of the Guyana Defence Force Brigadier Michael Atherly
have been tasked with reviewing these issues.
In a media conference held at the GTV-11 Studio on February 17,
Minister Gajraj pleaded with the public to be patient and co-operative
with the Police Force. He noted that persons are unwilling to
come forward to give information to the Police on criminal activities
and that impedes the effectiveness of the Police detection and
apprehension capability.
However, recognizing the importance of securing the safety and
protection of the nation, approximately $7.2B in the 2003 budget
was allocated for enhancing security measures. These include the
following: refresher and specialized training programmes carried
out both locally and overseas in a number of areas including traffic,
narcotics and criminal investigations; formation of an air wing
support section to boost the capability of the Police to prevent
crime. These are just some of the security measures that are being
implemented this year, following the menu of measures on crime
initiated by the President in the previous year.
Further, Government is concerned with the rising incidence of
kidnappings in Guyana, a new phenomenon, and to this effect moves
are aggressively afoot to address this problem. A Kidnapping Bill
2002 Bill No. 15 of 2002 was introduced in Parliament in December
of last year.
A significant proposal in this Bill is that persons who are found
culpable for this offence will be liable for conviction and a
fine of $10M along with imprisonment for a period of not less
than 15 years and not exceeding 20 years. It must be noted that
whoever is caught will face the full force of the law for this
offence.
Relatives of the kidnapped victims have paid out an enormous amount
of money to kidnappers. Many of these victims were held in Buxton.
This village is one of the first villages in Guyana and is now
known to be providing refuge for such criminal activities. Since
the February 23 jailbreak last year, there have been numerous
horrendous acts that were carried out in Buxton village. Approximately
12 persons including Policemen and civilians were killed in Buxton.
As mentioned before, the Police are finding it difficult to actually
penetrate the known gangs in the village. This is due to the fact
that there are persons who are afraid to speak out against such
criminal activities. The Chester family became victims, as that
family was perceived to be Police informants.
However, President Jagdeo has vehemently stated over the last
weekend that he wants to clean out the situation in Buxton.
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