Describing the crime situation as of “national concern,” the Private Sector Commission (PSC) yesterday called on the president and the government to not only publicly admit there is a problem but to send a strong signal to criminals that crime will not be tolerated.
“Our citizens are traumatized by fear of almost every day having a gun pointed at them with criminal intent. Our businesses, our banks, our tourism industry and our everyday lives are under threat. This is not the good life. It is time that our President intervenes,” PSC Chairman Edward Boyer said at a press conference yesterday.
Reading from a prepared statement, he said that given the growing concern among the population about safety, the PSC wishes to urge the Government of Guyana and the Guyana Police Force to acknowledge publicly that “we have a problem with crime in Guyana. It is the only way can start to address the issue; once all parties can acknowledge that a problem persists and start demanding collaboration across the board.”
He said the PSC was also encouraging President David Granger, government ministers and all stakeholders to send a strong signal to criminals that crime will no longer be tolerated.
He called for a “review [of] the sentencing of persons charged with armed and violent robberies, to ensure that these charges are not subject to bail and that they are subject to appropriate sentencing which should be handed down by all magistrates. In this light, we believe a collaborative approach is needed,” he read. He added that the PSC would like to see the President of Guyana and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces publicly give the orders for the men and women in uniform to bring some order and control with respect to these criminal gangs and individuals terrorizing the Guyanese community.
“While we commend the minister and the Commissioner of Police for the recent reduction in serious crime, our country, nevertheless, remains unprotected from guns flowing across our borders into the hands of violent criminals virtually without restraint. Our country remains with a Police Force which is inadequately staffed, insufficiently trained and underequipped to meet the challenge,” he said.
According to Boyer, there is a national concern that the state is unable to generally protect citizens from widespread gun crime.
“We believe that each and every one of our ordinary citizens feel threatened, regardless of where they happen to be, whether in the street, their workplace or in their homes…, each day [by] violent gun-related crime,” he said.
Reporters were told that two weeks ago, on October 12, the PSC, through its Sub-Committee on Security, and led by Major General (Retd) Norman McLean, met with the Minister of Public Security Khemraj Ramjattan, to express its concern.
“We were told that, in fact, according to the reported crime statistics, there has been a 16% reduction in serious crime this year compared with last. He confirmed, however, that criminal access to guns coming in to Guyana, mainly from Brazil, is an increasing threat and remains a challenge because of the extent of our borders. He noted that the Police Force remains understaffed by some 1,000 and more personnel,” Boyer said.
He said they emphasized that the 911 national emergency call system, essential for a citizen under criminal threat to be able to request police response, is simply not functioning.
The PSC, since 2010, has held meetings with the police, telephone companies and the political directorate, at the highest possible level, in an effort to have this system fixed and functional and “we are appalled at successive governments’ failure to do so,” Boyer said.
He informed that at the commission’s urging in 2015, the then Ministry of Home Affairs convened a panel of communications specialists to address the problem and a comprehensive report with specific recommendations was submitted to government. However, to date, these recommendations have not been implemented. The country, therefore, remains without an essential police emergency response system available to its citizens.
PSC member Kit Nascimento said that when it comes to collaborative efforts, the private sector keeps its door “wide open to be consulted. We are not sure that that is reciprocated on the other side. We have a great deal of expertise in the private sector.” Nascimento added that McLean had submitted documented advice “that is seldom, if ever, taken onboard.” He said there needs to be a “revolving door” so that each side is well aware that there is the willingness to help.
Ramesh Dookhoo added his views on the collaboration issue, pointing out that members of the public are recipients of a service from the police force, which is led and financed by the government. He pointed out that the police had “an obligation to the citizens of Guyana.”
He stressed that the PSC has done much over the years and its relationship with the force has been better when compared to previous years. The PSC, he said, is working very hard to bring it to a stage where there is a “revolving door”. He called for the importation of CCTV cameras and supporting equipment to be duty free.
PSC executive Captain Gerry Gouveia said there needs to be public confidence in the police force. He expressed the view too that there seems to be a problem with the deployment of anti-crime units as a preventative measure. “We have had a lot of talk about the fact that they have been able to solve crimes afterwards. We are very concerned about the preventative measures. People are dying, people are being hurt… The 911 system, in my view, is a national emergency and everybody from the President right down should not go to bed at night if this 911 system is not working and I am appalled that they do,” he stressed.
He said the PSC had been encouraging its members to engage private security companies and the police force to do security audits to see what needs to be done, particularly with the use of CCTV cameras, the way personal business is conducted and the use of security cameras in homes.
The businessman questioned why it is that anti-crime patrols are not being seen. He also expressed concern over members of the military deployed in urban areas as crime fighters.
