Presidential Advisor on National Security, Brigadier Edward Collins has seen the need for more resources to the police in Berbice including vehicles and radio sets.
He made this revelation after concluding a four-day outreach in Regions Five and Six to assess the security resources in those regions.
Resident have complained about the level of crime in Berbice in recent months.
According t0 GINA, Collins, a former Head of the army, is also in support of the decision taken by the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) to close the operations of the Berbice Anti-Smuggling Squad (BASS).
Collins said that BASS was merely duplicating the efforts of the GRA’s law enforcement arm and often operated contrary to the mandate of the revenue body.
During the outreach, the Presidential Advisor visited several police stations and engaged with senior rank.
“It was a very worthwhile visit and I am convinced that there are men and women in the Guyana Police Force that are committed to the fight against crime. They have put forward workable solutions and with the support of the Presidency there will be improvements,” Collins said, according to GINA.
Collins also said he was particularly heartened by Commander Christopher Griffith’s plan to revive inactive Community Policing Groups (CPGs) and to provide more support to the active ones. This, he said, is a sure way of bridging whatever gaps may exist between the police and residents. The Region has a total of 89 CPGs in the region, 28 of which are currently inactive, GINA said.
With regard to resources, Collins said that with the exception of the Automated Fingerprint Identification System which the force has been using to profile arrested persons, there is need for additional equipment. This includes vehicles and communication devices such as radio sets.
Collins will be visiting law enforcement agencies in other Regions across Guyana, after which he will be presenting a full report to President David Granger with the view of making the Police Force more efficient and better placed to serve the citizenry.
