Police making every effort to ensure safety in festive season -Gajraj
Stabroek News
December 21, 2002
Home Affairs Minister Ronald Gajraj on Thursday assured Guyanese that the Police are making every effort to ensure that members of the public can go about their business safely during the festive season.
But he cautioned them to be careful, as while the Police are doing their utmost they cannot guarantee a crime- free society.
He told reporters at his year-end press conference at the GTV 11 studios that the government has made fighting crime a priority and is sparing no effort or resources to equip the law enforcement agencies, and in particular the police in their ongoing campaign to arrest and reduce the current crime wave.
He said that in excess of $200 million has been spent on improved weaponry, protective equipment and gear, transportation and communication facilities for the Police and similar amounts, in addition to the regular budgetary allocation, will be spent next year and the following year in upgrading their capability.
Added to that, a comprehensive review to strengthen the force's intelligence unit is underway and members of the force are being trained in various strategies, tactics and leadership as well as in the use of modern weapons. Specialised training has also been instituted to respond to the current crime techniques.
Gajraj said, too, that because of the attacks on the ranks of the Traffic Department, the Police are looking at instituting protective measures.
Commenting on the situation in Buxton, Gajraj says the operational plans of the security forces are constantly being reviewed in light of experiences but disagreed that there is still the same level of concern about security as there was earlier in the year.
He compares the incidents at Buxton to flashfloods which he says are difficult to predict but point out that the patrolling by the security forces in the community are being constantly reviewed to ensure that the criminal activity can be reduced to manageable proportions.
Commenting on the force's investigative capacity, Gajraj said that it has been able to identify the presence of some of the more notorious bandits at more than one crime scene and has been able, through ballistics tests, to identify weapons used at more than one crime scene.
He said that while the force doesn't have concrete evidence, it has information about those persons involved in the shootings of police officers. He observed, too, that while a number of wanted criminals have died, the investigations into the crimes they committed are not closed as in some cases they were not the only ones involved.
Commenting on the deportee phenomenon, Gajraj says that while deportees may not be involved in the actual commission of crimes they do provide encouragement and resources and assist in disposing of the booty.
He says that most of the deportees involved in criminal activity are those who have served long prison terms in North America for violent and drug related offences. One deportee was among three bandits shot dead in a shoot-out with the police on Sunday morning in West Ruimveldt.
Gajraj added that some of the other deportees have left for neighbouring countries and in some cases have used false documents to return to North America.
The minister revealed that the Criminal Investigation and Immigration Departments as well as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs monitor the arrival of the deportees.
New anti-crime legislation also allows the Police to seek the permission of the High Court to authorise the Minister of Home Affairs to monitor the movement of some deportees.
In addition to a $20 million fund controlled by the Police for providing assistance to the dependants of police officers killed in the line of duty, Gajraj says the Police are now looking at the provision of some insurance scheme from which the families of all serving officers could benefit whether or not they died in the line of duty.
