-rapped over Neesa Gopaul
Minister of Home Affairs Clement Rohee on Saturday urged ‘D’ Division Community Policing Groups (CPGs) to boost their membership and expand their service in the area.
Rohee made these comments in an address at a CPG retreat hosted at the West Demerara Secondary School, a press release from the Government Information Agency (GINA) said. According to Rohee the exercise was initiated after an audit of CPGs countrywide, aimed at boosting community policing. Referring to the recent murder of 16-year-old Neesa Lalita Gopaul, the minister lamented the poor performance of the CPGs. He said they were the “eyes and ears” of the police and that they are duty-bound to be knowledgeable about what is going on in their communities. He said too the Division is not short of resources and urged the members to use the forum to devise workable solutions to deal with the issues affecting them.
The minister also noted that government appreciates the concept of community policing as well as the sacrifices that ordinary citizens are making in the interest of safer communities. “Government will continue to provide the necessary support for CPGs because we see it as an important part of our crime fighting strategy,” he said.
Rohee also urged members to engage in constructive criticisms during their deliberations in the interactive session 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 identified several issues that needed to be addressed and made recommendations on issues such as the lack of coordination between police and CPGs, poor performance by Rural Constables, the lack of leadership in the Division, the need for more vehicles and more involvement of the business and religious communities, regular meetings with more police support, lack of confidentiality in information sharing, more female and youth involvement, and more training.
“Guyana is the only country in CARICOM where the Government is providing so much resource to sustain the system of community policing and we see it as a positive investment,” he said.
The ministry is also moving to ensure that elections are held to appoint new persons in the divisional and national level of the community policing system.
Divisional Commander, Balram Persaud said that his Division and the Guyana Police embrace the system of community policing. He noted that crimes in the Division have reduced over the last three months as a result of the collaborative effort between the police and CPGs.
In this regard, the Anna Catherina CPG came in for high praise, as their efforts led to the recovery of a firearm and the arrest of a man charged with three counts of armed robbery. According to the Commander, the Zeelugt CPG has also worked remarkably well in reducing drug-related activities in that area. However, he urged the CPGs not to become complacent. “We have to continue to press forward to rid this division of criminal activities,” he added.
