The business community has shunned the government’s crime stoppers programme, one of three major security projects which were introduced to the nation over the past three years but are yet to take off.
Two other projects, the ambitious drug strategy master plan and the Citizen Security Programme have also had a long shelf life. On Wednesday the latter will be finally launched.
In an interview with the Government Information Agency (GINA) recently, Home Affairs Minister, Clement Rohee acknowledged that the administration had been pushing for the Crime Stoppers Programme to be implemented but it has not been receiving support from the private sector. “It’s not because of the lack of will on the government part. I have been aggressively pushing for this programme to come on stream but you see, the Crime Stoppers Pro-gramme internationally, is based on the involvement of the private sector,” Rohee was quoted by GINA as saying.
He said the administration gave leadership in terms of helping to guide the framework or the various steps that are required for the Crime Stoppers Programme to be established. “We have done these things. Government has brought the stakeholders together, given them the necessary guidance and the pathway both domestically and internationally to get the programme established,” the security minister said.
Rohee observed that the businessmen had a mindset of paying more attention to their business entities than to matters such as these “but I think there is a lack of an appreciation of the interaction and interconnection between their businesses and this programme,” the Home Affairs Minister reasoned.
The Home Affairs Minister said if the businessmen are yet to understand the importance of the programme then it’s a lack of will and noted that as Minister of Home Affairs he may have to engage the community once again, to ensure the programme is launched as soon as possible.
The programme facilitates the passage of information regarding criminal activity from citizens to the police, based on anonymity and it has been successful in reducing and preventing crime worldwide. Tipsters are paid for information through banks without the identity of the tipster ever being known. Last year Rohee had announced that the programme would have been launched in August.
Noting the $50M reward that has been offered for Rondell Rawlins, Rohee said if the Crime Stoppers Programme was in place with the anonymity of the phone number, it could have contributed significantly to persons having some level of comfort and confidence.
Since the January 26 slaying of 11 people at Lusignan, the administration has been scrambling to accelerate the various security schemes and strategies that had been left on the shelf for the past several years. Considerable efforts are being made now to activate the three million pounds Sterling British-funded Security Sector Reform Action Plan, which promises sweeping reforms in the Guyana Police Force (GPF) among other areas. However, while the administration moves with speed to implement this plan, there are others sitting in the offices of security officials which have not gotten off the ground.
Back in July last year Rohee announced that the crime stoppers programme would have been launched the following month, but this fell through. At the time of his announcement last year GINA had reported that the local steering committee had been able to meet the necessary requirements for the launching of the programme.
“The last report I received from our steering committee is that they are on track to meet the August deadline. All things that were requested also from the other committees have been met,” GINA quoted Rohee as saying then. The business community was to play a critical role in providing the rewards for citizens who would call in with vital tips on the commission of crimes and criminals.
The programme works on three components: the community, the media and the police with the residents forming the foundation. The media’s role is to assist in highlighting unsolved crimes and they can also regularly promote the special Crime Stoppers telephone numbers.
The crime stoppers programme is currently on stream in 20 countries including the United States, Australia, South Africa, Canada, the United Kingdom, Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago. If one witnesses or knows about a crime, a 1-800 toll-free number will be made available for that person to call. Whoever is reporting the crime will never be required to provide their name, or to testify in court. A secret code number will be given to that person at the time the report is made and that would be the basis by which the person would be identified. Depending on the level of action taken, such as an arrest or conviction, or the number of items seized and their value, the size of the reward the person receives would be determined.
Crime observatory
Meanwhile, on Wednesday the $20 million IDB-funded Citizen Security Programme, which seeks to help Guyana arrest the rise in violent crime and insecurity, will be launched after being in the public domain since 2006. The programme will help strengthen the Ministry of Home Affairs and modernise the Guyana Police Force. It will also promote social development in disadvantaged communities in Regions Four and Six.
A key part of the programme, which was outlined last year by Rohee, is the establishment of a “crime observatory” to monitor trends in crime and violence and collect the data the Ministry of Home Affairs and the GPF need to plan, implement and evaluate citizen security policies and strategies. The programme will include technical assistance, training and computer hardware and software to create the information system and to support the development of staff of the MoHA’s policy and research unit. It will also promote improvements to the ministry’s overall administration and performance.
With regard to the GPF it will receive support for training in crime investigation and detection, information management, case management, recruit training, neighbourhood policing, and human rights. Resources will be provided to build and equip a crime laboratory and training facilities, remodel police stations and develop a new urban traffic management plan, according to the project document.
The programme will also help the GPF improve its internal organisation and administration, including planning, budgeting, accounting, auditing, human resource management and procurement as well as assist the police in developing partnerships with communities. At present, Khemraj Rai is the coordinator of the secretariat, replacing Denise De Souza.
Government had initially promised to launch the programme at the end of 2006.
Master plan
Launched since 2005 with much fanfare, the National Drug Strategy Master Plan is still to make an impact, although Rohee has promised to do a review of it next month. Weeks into his role as Home Affairs Minister, Rohee had told this newspaper in an interview that he would be “tough on drug lords”. He said he had “a large reservoir of contacts which could be used to explore possibilities of cooperation in the fight against crime,” and pledged to deploy his considerable political and international experience with neighbouring countries. Two years later not much has happened in those areas. Cocaine continues to pour though Guyana’s porous air and maritime ports.
The $650 million strategy seeks to amend laws dealing with electronic surveillance and wiretapping. It provides for expert scientific evidence from foreign jurisdictions being made admissible in the local courts. Several security experts had told this newspaper that the wiretapping legislation would help reduce the drug problem and could contribute in large measure to the arrests of many drug dealers.
The plan also encompassed increasing the joint enforcement presence at the nine ports of entry, the establishment of an enforcement port near the Orin
oco Delta and other locations and increased surveillance at the Bartica, Anna Regina, Linden and Enmore airstrips, none of which has materialised.
The strategy had envisaged that in the first year, the secretariat would be established and funding sources – local, bilateral and multilateral would be identified. The Joint Intelligence Coordina-tion Centre (JICC) was also to be operationalised in the first year and the Immigration and Criminal Investigation Department computerised. It was only recently government set up an inter-agency task force on drugs and guns. The task force comprises members of the GPF, army, Guyana Revenue Authority, the Financial Intelligence Unit, the Custom Anti-Narcotics Unit and other bodies.
Additionally, the drug plan calls for the completion of outstanding legislative requirements covering narcotics, money laundering and food and drugs, together with the relevant regulations. Work has begun in this area. (Nigel Williams)
