The Ministry of Home Affairs hosted its fifth outreach exercise to Community Policing Groups (CPGs) in Region Two last week to garner feedback and to address problems that might impede the functioning of the group.
Minister of Home Affairs Clement Rohee told the ‘G’ Division CPG that they are the “eyes and ears” of ranks of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) who are specifically trained to deal with crimes and criminals. “It was never intended for CPG members to undertake the task of confronting high-profile criminals,” he said, adding that instead CPGs and Rural Constables (RCs) are valuable resources to police as they are a 24-hour presence in every community.
According to a Government Informa-tion Agency (GINA) press release Rohee noted that credibility and confidentiality are two characteristics that neither the GPF nor CPGs can afford to toy with. “Credibility is extremely important because it helps to build trust and provide the necessary support for members by the community,” he said. The minister also lauded residents’ commitment to maintaining safe neighbourhoods saying; “the fact that so many community members are part of a CPG is proof that there is a high level of commitment to serve.” He then urged them to recruit more members to strengthen their operations as “However small or modest your contribution is, you are adding to the bigger picture of national safety.”
Rohee also urged members to engage in constructive criticisms during the interactive sessions of the exercise which was premised on three main topics: problems affecting community policing, building and expanding community policing, and forging better relations with CPGs, the police and the communities. At the end of the discussions, the members voiced concern about the lack of youth involvement, poor attendance at statutory meetings, the need for more training sessions, inadequate transportation in certain riverain communities, the need for more CPG members to be sworn-in as RCs and the need for a police outpost at Lima Sands.