The Guyana Police Force (GPF) believes that the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)-funded Citizen Security Strengthen-ing Programme (CSSP) has significantly helped not only in infrastructure building and personnel improvement but in lowering crime and building public trust.
Implemented by the Ministry of Home Affairs, Project Imple-mentation Unit in 2015 and led by Vishraj Singh, the project sought to build on the results and experiences of the preceding Citizen Security Project started since 2006, with a view of further addressing the pressing risk factors for crime and violence. It will conclude at the end of this year.
“It is important that we continue on this path to have a police service instead of a police force,” Commissioner of Police (Ag) Clifton Hicken on Friday told attendees at a Citizen Security Strengthening Programme exit workshop.
The Commissioner of Police said that while the US$15 million funding provided by the IDB through its development support financing programmes to this country’s security sector has ended, the force will continue to build on programmes implemented, lessons learned and data collected over the course of the five year initiative.
Importantly, he noted, was that all data had so far pointed to the fact that “If we don’t go into the communities and speak one-on-one” the GPF was not going to have a firsthand insight into the problems that are to be dealt with or how to serve the people.
Hicken announced that in the near future, all police stations will be “equipped with CCTV cameras” that will provide 24/7 feedback to their respective superior officers, so that they can hear and see how the officers of the force interact with the public. He also emphasised that this will not be financed with monies from the IDB tranche.
The Commissioner placed emphasis on developing positive relationships between the GPF and the public, which he said would be key overall to enforcing of the law and crime prevention, while providing support services. Much of the resources, he said, continues to be put into police outreaches across the country’s 10 administrative regions. “The trust level is building,” Hicken told attendees.
Building trust between the police and the community was also highlighted by Minister of Home Affairs, Robeson Benn, who pointed out that his ministry has been working assiduously to increase the peace in Guyana. He posited that the programme should not be seen as one where just more police stations are being built, but looked at for the human resource improvements and opportunities for locals.
And as this country emerges as one of the fastest growing economies in the region with its proceeds from the oil and gas sector, the minister reasoned that the populace should expect that more persons would flock here. However he cautioned that along with investors will be persons skilled in more sophisticated and transnational crimes, and for that the Guyana Police Force and the nation must be prepared.
Deliverables
Giving an overview of goals and achievements, the GPF said the programme’s main aim is to contribute to a reduction in crime and violence here, especially in the targeted communities and among youths, by increasing the human, social and economic capacity in those areas.
Its stated aim is “To improve behaviours for non-violent conflict resolution in target communities; Increase Guyana Police Force (GPF) effectiveness in crime prevention and crime investigation nationally; and improve Guyana Prison Service (GPS) effectiveness in reducing offender recidivism at the national level.”
Divided into three components – 1) Community Crime & Vio-lence Prevention, 2) Strengthen-ing Guyana Police Force Crime Prevention and Investigation Capacity, and 3) Strengthening Guyana Prison Service Rehabi-litation and Social Reintegration Services – the program was rolled out over the years countrywide.
In addressing the weak aspects of crime and violence, through differentiated social prevention interventions, twenty target communities were selected with target beneficiaries being persons between ages 15 and 64.
The GPF said that Community Action Councils (CACs) were established in each of the target communities as an oversight body. Community needs and asset assessments was also conducted within each community to tailor interventions to community needs, identify community assets (both physical and human), and ensure community involvement to support implementation.
“Twenty Community Action Councils were established/formalized and were operational. These action councils were formed to better foster communication and enable decision-making for community needs. One thousand two hundred and eighty-three (1,283) youths were certified in vocational training; these trainings were geared towards reducing unemployment. Training included: Plumb-ing, Masonry, Welding and Fabrication, Electrical Installa-tion, Cosmetology, Certificate in Office Administration, Computer Studies, Catering, Dress Making and Upholstery Designs,” the GPF said of deliverables.
Reference was made to sixty (60) Job Readiness and Job Placement Training Workshops. Here, youths were provided skills and knowledge that are essential for success at the workplace, including employability skills such as effective communication, problem-solving, resume writing, appropriate behaviour and dress code for interviews, as well as good work habits and work ethics in the working environment. A total of 1221 youths benefitted from this training. Entrepreneurship training programs geared towards reducing unemployment were also carried out in target communities, with the project boasting of having some 205 youths benefiting from training.
As it pertained to strengthening the GPF’s CI capacity, CSSP financed a model for effective Crime Prevention and Investiga-tion to strengthen community relations, enhance the human capacity and modernise the physical (asset) resources of the GPF, provide forensic and criminal training and tools, increase criminal investigative and crime prevention capacity, install inter-agency coordination mechanisms, conduct national high-quality surveys to understand the extent and causes of domestic violence and violence against women, the public perception of crime and violence, as well as business victimisation and the quality of government services. Also provided was scenario-based DV training for police officers as well as training on the management of a Domestic and Sexual Violence unit for the GPF.
And in an effort to improve the Force’s effectiveness in reducing offender recidivism at the national level, the GPF financed a number of activities. These include a prison census of Guyana’s five (5) prisons, including needs assessment; the design and implementation of an R&R model aligned with international best practices; design and implementation of a case management information system/program; and the development and implementation of an R&R service delivery training plan to address prison overcrowding. CSSP also financed a study of incarceration alternatives for pre-trial detainees and the procurement of tools and equipment for active rehabilitation centres.
According to the GPF, a prison census of Guyana’s five prisons, including a needs assessment for the rehabilitation of prisoners was completed. In addition, social reintegration models for the Guyana Prison Service were designed and completed where some one hundred and twenty-nine (129) staff members completed training.
Among other tasks completed was a study of incarceration alternatives for pre-trial detainees and the installation of a full-body scanner to boost prison security.
GPS also bought a number of tools and equipment for its trade shops to aid skills training so that when inmates reintegrate into society, they are able to earn an honest living and be financially independent.
‘Comprehensive Reform’
Meanwhile IDB Country Head, Lorena Salazar, said that the organization was pleased at the legislative reforms, strategic planning, operational improvements, human resource capacity building and cross-border alliances efforts by Guyana.
“Today, we can collectively celebrate the end of the second generation of comprehensive reform in Guyana’s security sector. Even as we reflect on the past seven years, and count our accomplishments, we must also ponder on the lessons learned, which can hopefully be factored into the design of future interventions in this sector that is vital for citizen safety and confidence.”
As the Bank continues to support the development goals of the government, she assured that it will remain conscious of the challenges that confront these objectives.
“As partners, we have recognized that the vision of accelerated economic growth is contingent upon the enhancement of the country’s business climate. A number of critical actions which include the completion and consolidation of the institutional and governance reforms that commenced in the early and mid-2000s, as well as the continued discipline in the Government’s economic and fiscal management, have therefore been pursued,” Salazar was quoted as saying.
The bank executive pointed out that one of the challenges to the fostering of an enabling business climate, is the negative impact of increasing crime and violence on both the quality of life of citizens and investor confidence, stating,
“As we are aware, in Latin America and the Caribbean, the IDB estimates the costs of crime and violence in the range between five to ten per cent of Gross Domestic Product [GDP]. Crime also negatively affects the enabling environment for economy and social development. This Citizen Security Strengthening Programme sought to consolidate the interventions under the first program and address the continued challenges to citizen security and justice. The Bank has and continues to be strategically poised to aid in this pursuit consolidating our experience in other countries in the region in the area of violence prevention and citizen security.”
Having financed similar operations in Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Trini-dad and Tobago, among other countries, Salazar noted that the programs allowed for a number of lessons as well as related interventions to be considered for inclusion into the CSSP in Guyana.
“The design, of course allowed for the customization of generic interventions to reflect the realities of the Guyanese context, even as constraints faced by other countries, were carefully addressed. A special attention to the community as a tool for crime prevention was also one of the objectives of this program. Prevention has been long understood to be an investment that reduces substantial future expenditures in dealing with the consequences of crime and in response to crime.”
IDB believes that there was successful application of lessons learned and has undoubtedly influenced, in a very tangible manner, results that have validated the use of violence prevention and mitigating interventions initiatives.
Guyana was also lauded for the training opportunities it provided to especially youth and for works done in communities.
