…but police have performed well in 2008, Rohee says
The rampant smuggling of firearms which are then used by criminals to sometimes commit some of the most heinous crimes is a continued source of concern for Minister of Home Affairs Clement Rohee, who said even though the police have recovered some illegal weapons many still remain in the hands of criminals.
The minister at his end-of-year press conference on Monday called on the public to support the joint services in recovering weapons, which include those that were stolen from Camp Ayanganna in 2006, by providing information. He noted that with firearms in the hands of criminals some amount of threat is posed to society at large.
Rohee also mentioned the numerous complaints by members of the public about the long time it takes for members of the force on some occasions to respond to reports of crime and other matters. He said benchmarks for responses to reports have been set by various police divisions, but there is need for more monitoring of the responses to be done by senior officers.
Meanwhile, Rohee said his ministry has been taking steps to deal with the issue of illegal drugs. This revelation by the minister comes at a time when two major drug busts were made in a matter of days in foreign countries with the cocaine found said to have originated from Guyana. According to the minister, initiatives are being developed to facilitate a more “coordinated approach by the respective law enforcement agencies to deal with this problem, both from the standpoint of demand reduction and supply reduction.”
He said that the establishment of the Task Force on Narcotics and Illicit Weapons has resulted in more coordination by the law enforcement agencies to deal with the issue.
“The issue of drug trafficking still remains with us but strenuous efforts are being made to deal with the problem,” the minister said.
Rohee said during the year the police faced the challenge of the threat to the national security of the country posed by gangs in particular the marauding gang headed by the now dead Rondell ‘Fineman’ Rawlins and his cohorts. The managing of the traffic situation after the dramatic rise in the number of fatal accidents in 2007 also remained a challenge.
He said the force effectively dealt with both challenges as it had to quickly adjust its operational strategies to deal with the difficulties during the year. He noted that the lives of four policemen were snuffed out and a number of ranks received injuries. And many civilians also lost their lives at the hands of the bandits with the massacres at Lusignan, Bartica and Lindo Creek being testimony to the savagery that the force has had to confront.
“It is my belief that only the good quality of training received by members of the services who confronted those criminals prevented more deaths among members of their ranks,” the minister told reporters. He said significant inroads have been made into the operations of the criminals. However, the task to arrest the remaining members of the gangs and recover illegal weapons in their possession is far from over.
‘Drastic remedial action’
Meanwhile, Rohee said it was the remedial action that was taken following the high number of deaths on the roadways last year that they had significantly reduced this year. While some 207 persons died on the roadways last year 113 died for this year, a 54.6% reduction. And while 30 children died on the roadway last year up to December 10, for the corresponding period this year only seven died. The minister cautioned motorists and pedestrians to exercise more courtesy and care on the roads while adding that speeding on the highways needs to be curbed.
Projections
Rohee hopes that the new year would see a “further” reduction of the incidence of crime and that there would be better management of the traffic system. He also wants to see an enhancement of the cooperation between the police force and the community policing groups and the neighbourhood policing groups. The minister is also hoping for a reduction in the incidence of noise nuisance and the enhancement of the working environment of members of the force and other welfare facilities. A better relationship between the force and the public is also hoped for with the intensification of training in the force at all levels being on the radar too.