Cabinet has granted its no objection to a $134.5 million contract for the remodelling and rehabilitation of police stations along the coast aimed at making them “victim friendly” and addressing concerns about their inadequate configuration.
Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr. Roger Luncheon during a post- cabinet press briefing yesterday could not give a definite count of the number of stations to benefit from this project but told reporters that it was about six to eight that will be remodelled mentioning, Sparendaam, Leonora and Kitty.
He said that the police stations being targeted are located in Regions Three, Four and Five.
Asked why the remodelling and rehabilitation is being done, Dr. Luncheon said that “There are a number of concerns that have repeatedly surfaced about the less than adequate configuration of existing police stations”. He pointed out that most of these stations were constructed decades ago and as such in light of this along with new legislation and social concerns about the weaknesses of the Police Force in dealing with issues such as sexual violence, domestic violence and counselling “that there needs to be a victim friendly environment”.
Dr. Luncheon said that additionally concerns have been raised about the custodial presence as well as the custodial facilities.
“The intention is that the rehabilitation and the remodelling would reflect a new thrust of the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Guyana Police Force to make the stations provide a service that is more victim friendly with privacy”, he said. Also the provision of reasonable levels of services to detained persons, he said.
“Then last of all because of the importance of ICT (Information and Communications Technology) in crime prevention and crime fighting, the stations would need to be remodelled with clean power and such like to join into the network of police stations that is being created under the auspices of the Ministry of Home Affairs”, he added.
