The Guyana Police Force needs to intensify its efforts at trying to foster “a bond of mutual trust” with members of the general public, working closely with the various communities, to win the war on crime, violence and other scourges plaguing society.
According to President David Granger, ‘community policing‘ is an ideal mechanism to continue the country’s fight against crime and violence. And in order to win this war, much focus will have to be placed on the causes of these societal scourges, the President said during his address this morning to a large gathering at the opening of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) annual Officers’ Conference at Eve Leary, Georgetown.
The three-day conference provides Senior Officers of the Police Force with an opportunity to review the performance of the Force over the past year and to discuss action plans for 2016.
“The basic idea is that there must be a bond of mutual trust between the Police and the public. Community policing establishes partnerships and these partnerships emphasize problem solving and they place emphasis on public safety and public service with the aim of improving the quality of life (of citizens),” President Granger declared.
He pointed out that, at present, Police officers are tempted to be preoccupied with prosecutions and punishment instead of the prevention of crime and the protection of citizens.
He explained that there is need for a system to be put in place where persons feel, and are secured, in the absence of police stations and this can be done through community policing.
Meanwhile, Police Commissioner Seelall Persaud, said the GPF made a number of successful strides last year, despite several challenges.
“(The President’s) Five-point strategy and Operation Dragnet have positively impacted crime and traffic controls. Criminal Investigations Department (CID) operations in the latter half of last year coupled with our Social Crime Prevention Programme, in particular, have served to reduced fear of crime in Guyana,” Persaud said.
The Top Cop said plans for this year include a ‘Street Cameras Programme’, heightened Information Technology support, enhanced use of video analysis technology and continued infrastructural work on the Integrated Crime Information System (ICIS).
The three-day annual Police Officers’ conference is being held under the theme ‘Consolidating on partnership programmes, enhanced public trust and capacity building to provide effective security’.
TRUST with the POLICE force! Granger you sound like another BURHNAM….look at the facts, since you took office, the PNC supporters ALL have power to loot again_Crime wave ALL over Guyana. You made false promise to increase their salary and you are asking them to work? Haha…this is what Burhnam did back in the days and you know what the results were? The Police and Army men -instead of protecting the local people….they became thieves. If they were not doing it, their guns used to be rented to do the operation….so please spare the public you non-sense and have systems that are more pro-active to reduce crime rather than re-active after the crime has be done…ONE cannot bring back the dead…they can only determine the cause of death…so be pro-active with CRIME….