As part of a larger plan to outfit the police with needed resources to ensure a safe Guyana, 11 new vehicles were yesterday handed over and according to Minister of Public Security Khemraj Ramjattan, the force will receive 16 more very shortly.
The vehicles, which were originally intended for Community Policing Groups, will be deployed to the various divisions for patrol purposes. Ramjattan has already expressed concern over the recent spike in crime and pledged to ensure that the police are given the necessary equipment to go after these criminals and bring the crime rate down.
Police Commissioner Seelall Persaud said the force is in dire need of vehicles to do patrols. In ‘D’ Division (West Demerara), he said, there is no vehicle, while in ‘B’ Division there are only two. As a result, he assured that the new vehicles will be useful.
During the brief handing over ceremony at the Tactical Services Unit (TSU), at Eve Leary yesterday, Ramjattan told a small gathering that the force at present has “certain deficiencies” which the new administration intends to meet through, among other things, the provision of more vehicles. He said what was being handed over was just the first batch.
He said it was difficult to do more because the government does not yet have a budget and he added that vehicles are just one aspect of the resources.
Ramjattan said the deficiencies are “rather multi-dimensional in almost every area.” He said having gone through what is required with the commissioner and a number of commanders, it would appear that the deficiencies are “chronic.”
The minister had promised the vehicles two weeks ago but it took some time for them to be re-sprayed and registered to the force.
The outstanding 16 vehicles are expected to also be assigned to the various police divisions for patrol purposes.
Ramjattan assured the ranks gathered that government would do as much as it can to deal with these deficiencies and he added that the Minister of Finance has difficulties at the moment as almost every area requires funding. “But the security area for a stable Guyana is of priority…,” he said, before adding that government will ensure the necessary resources are provided to see communities being better patrolled and the police better equipped transportation-wise in and around the various divisions.
He indicated that during a recent meeting with the Chinese Ambassador, he was assured that efforts will be made to fast track the provision of equipment, which are part of a list submitted sometime last year.
Ramjattan spoke of the acquisition of radio sets and vests as well as training and better supervision, which he said is on the government’s list of things to do to make the force a better one.
“It is good to see that the first steps [are] being made so that the capabilities are going to be increased so that we can have as many communities as are asking… [patrolled],” he said, before urging the police to work hard for the Guyanese community.
Meanwhile, Persaud said that since the new administration took office all of his engagements with senior officials suggest, among other things, “that there will be efforts to capacitate the force. However, there will be a demand for improved and increased production.” He said that while the police will be retooled, they will have to be held accountable in terms of taking control of crime, decreasing road deaths, developing public trust and engaging with communities.
He said the handing over of the vehicles is a sign that empty promises were not made during those engagements. “The vehicles we have today are purely [a result of] out-of-the-box thinking by the minister because they were not intended for us. But having been briefed on the situation… He has decided that the police should have these vehicles,” he said.
Persaud urged the ranks to take care of the vehicles and use them only for the purposes intended.
