Guyanese duo complete US leadership programme on citizen security

As favourable bilateral partnerships between Guyana and the United States become more frequent, two Guyanese benefited from this year’s International Visitors Leadership Program (IVLP), sponsored and hosted by the US.

According to a press release from the US Embassy, the Guyanese, along with several Caribbean counterparts embarked on the exchange programme on ‘Ensuring Citizen Security in US Communities’, which was aimed at finding means to strengthen institutions that sustain the rule of law, address the cause of crime and guarantee long-term security. The initiative took place from August 18 to September 7.

Improving citizen security was the major emphasis of this exercise and the US Embassy cited it as imperative in the effort to build on existing joint security initiatives such as the Central American Citizen Security Partnership, the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI), and the Colombia Strategic Development initiative (CSDI).

In an effort to examine local community policing efforts and strategies that seemed to create an atmosphere where lawfulness prevailed, the two Guyanese, Commander of ‘D’ Division, Superintendent Errol Watts and Vice Chairman of the Community Policing Organisation Rawle Blyden, visited New York, Washington DC, New Orleans, Los Angeles, San Diego, and Kansas City. The men delved into issues ranging from the challenges faced by police in maintaining order, to implications of a loss of confidence in the police force, also, corrective measures taken by police to regain that trust.

In a meeting with US Ambassador D Brent Hardt, Watts and Blyden were thanked for their active participation and urged to share their experiences with their colleagues and work in partnership with the United States to adapt and apply the policing approaches and techniques in Guyana.

The International Visitor Leadership Program is the flagship professional exchange program run by the US State Department, which sponsors approximately 5,000 foreign nationals from all over the world to the United States to confer with their professional counterparts as well as to experience America for themselves. The programme usually targets leaders or potential leaders involved in the areas of government, politics, media, education, the arts, business and other fields. According to the release, of the thousands of individuals that participated in this program over the years, more than 290 are present and former Chiefs of State and Heads of Government, 2,000 have become cabinet-level ministers, and many, many other distinguished leaders from the private and public sectors. In the individual case of Guyana, over 100 persons have participated in IVLPs since its inception.