Lamenting the “escalation” of crime here, the Private Sector Commission (PSC) yesterday floated strategies for the reduction of crime, while saying that it is willing to partner with the relevant authorities to address the situation.
“The PSC is greatly concerned over what we perceive as the hike in crimes and we are left to wonder: Who is next?” Chairman of the PSC Norman McLean told a press conference yesterday, after listing a series of recent crimes.
Accompanied by members of the business community, McLean said the PSC was concerned because the citizenry seems to be living in a state of perpetual fear. “Crimes of violence are being conducted with impunity and little regard for life and no respect or fear of the police and the consequences… People are living in fear—old and young alike are being targeted,” he said, as he cited the recent brazen attack on America Street moneychangers that saw high-powered weapons being indiscriminately fired off by a gang of men on motorbikes.
“I think it amounts to sending a message to the population and the security and police that we can do what we like [we have] no fear. The records are replete with accounts and the summary from the police themselves testifies to an increase and we can go on and on,” he said.
The Private Sector Chairman believes that the PSC document on fighting crime, tweaked from its original version which was presented earlier this year at a police conference, can be of great use to the Guyana Police Force as much work was put into its compilation.
He said that there is no one-size-fits-all approach in dealing with the issue and that the PSC doesn’t expect their recommendations to be adopted “wholesale.” He, however, feels that the strategies listed should be taken into consideration, especially the use of data and the enhancement of human resources.
Key among the PSC’s recommendations is the importance of the use of data that the police force has been compiling through the use of its Integrated Crime Information System (ICIS) and McLean urged that those statistics should be analysed so as to plan for the future.
“We need to look at crime statistics over the last five years to assess the evolving state of crime in Guyana over that time…I need to emphasise that the data collection being executed by ICIS is but the first phase. You can have the data and not use it effectively and it becomes useless data just being recorded. The data must be interpreted and used to identify ‘black spots on crime,’ day and time, frequency, modus operandi so that we can better understand crime, conduct of crime, mapping as well as other relevant details which can help the police in their efforts to suppress crime and predict the course of crime in Guyana,” he stated.
McLean also complained that the PSC was not privy to the ICIS content. “We have been denied access to the ICIS data and, therefore, cannot really help the police on this analytical tool. Where is the transparency which was so widely touted? That was available at least through the Law and Order Commission (a body that had been set up by the previous government). This is not a secret as our people are being beaten robbed and killed. Let us help our police and not bury our heads in the sand as if we know it all,” he said.
While he gave the police credit for their efforts, he maintained that persons are still afraid and crime needs to be vigilantly addressed. “The police, I say, have had some outstanding success. We must give jack his jacket and we must congratulate them on those successes but people are fearful for their lives and would wish to see prevention rather than cure….we wish to see greater proactive performance and preventative efforts to build confidence in the police and less fear of crime,” he said.
The PSC statement follows different views from various stakeholders on the crime situation. The police force has said that though crime has risen, it is making headway and expects even more progress. The opposition PPP/C has said that crime is out of control and former President Donald Ramotar has called for the army to be deployed. The APNU+AFC government has said that progress is being made in the fight against crime and many criminals are being arrested.
