Police Force to tap into crime mapping mechanism in 2014

[www.inewsguyana.com] – The Ministry of Home Affairs and the Guyana Police Force now have access to large amounts of data which are collected from the Integrated Crime Information System (ICIS) as well as other sources, according to Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee.

Rohee said in order to analyse this data new tools are being developed to determine the trends of crime and violence. One such tool is a GIS based Crime Mapping system.

Crime Maps can be used to integrate crime data with demographic and neighbourhood information, so that spatial patterns of crime can be unlocked and areas of concerns identified.

Crime Mapping will assist law enforcement in allocating their resources more efficiently and effectively, the Home Affairs Minister explained, adding that “in other words, facilitate a move from reactive policing to proactive policing.”

He said “in our efforts to produce crime maps we have purchased a satellite image of Georgetown as well as its surrounding areas, which was taken in July 2013. We have also contracted a GIS Consultant to digitize this image.”

In 2014 the Ministry of Home Affairs will be in a position to give additional support to the Guyana Police Force by providing the Agency with up to date web based crime maps based on information collected by the ICIS.

Meanwhile, as part of the programme of improving service delivery to the public, the Ministry launched an initiative called the ‘Online Crime Reporting System (OCRS)’ which allows citizens who possess or have access to cell phones, computers and other internet connected information technology devices to report crimes to the Guyana Police Force by using these modern communication tools.

Citizens who have witnessed a crime or have information on any crime, can use their cell phones, blackberry devices, tablets and computers to send images, sound recordings, videos, text messages, emails and even website URLs to the police.

Persons who wish to remain anonymous can do so since the OCRS does not require the reporter to reveal his or her identity.

According to Rohee, since its launch in May 2012 the system has had moderate success with a total of 149 reports received in 2013. The Guyana Police Force has investigated these reports and conducted prosecutions where necessary.