Senior police officers together with representatives from the Attorney General’s Chambers and the Director of Public Prosecutions participated in a U.S.-funded specialized training course on firearms trafficking.
A release from the US Embassy yesterday said that the May 28-30 course aimed to assist security sector officials in strengthening coordination, communication, and cooperation in firearms trafficking cases.
The release said that the course was conducted by trainers from the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace,
Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC) and addressed issues of firearms proliferation and armed violence, international instruments and legal frameworks related to firearms trafficking, and firearms crime scene management and chain of custody issues.
The course complemented the January 2014 UNLIREC handover to the Guyana Police Force and Guyana Defence Force of hydraulic shears and a small-arms ammunition burning tank to destroy weapons and ammunition, the release said. UNLIREC received US$1.7M from the United States Government to run the destruction and stockpile management programme in Guyana, and other countries in the Caribbean including Barbados, Dominica, and St. Kitts and Nevis, the release disclosed.
Funded through the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI), the programme helps strengthen capacity and provide practical skills to relevant security officials working in this critically important area, the release said.
Participants were awarded certificates of completion by U.S. Embassy Deputy Chief of Mission Bryan Hunt, the release added. Assistant Commissioner of Police Balram Persaud also attended the ceremony.
