This has been augmented by closer coordination of the activities of Community Policing Groups with the law enforcement agencies, Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr. Roger Luncheon, told his regular post-Cabinet news conference.

He reported that Cabinet at its session Tuesday noted that the overall situation continued and that at Buxton reflected its continued isolation through the efforts of the security forces and more recently the Ministry of Works, which has erected barricades cutting off the railway embankment road.

He observed that following the deployment of increased security forces, there has been a decrease in the invasion of the neighbouring communities by criminal gangs and the mood and morale of the residents have been sustained.

"The specific details reside in the interruption of the free access to the communities of the criminally intent from Buxton, and I think, that has had an extremely salutary impact on the mood...morale of the residents both from the east and west of Buxton", Luncheon said.

That morale has been sustained by the relative fall in the frequency of invasions of their communities by criminal elements from Buxton, he added.

"I think also the fixed presence of the Army and the highly visible and virtually permanent presence of Police patrols in the communities...has...made a major impact."

He said that in addition, there were greater efforts at making the Community Policing Groups more functional with "specific attention being paid to the Community Policing Groups being suitably resourced and to have the right amount of coordination with the Police and Army patrols in their communities."

In Georgetown and the other districts the security forces are continuing their efforts to confront the escalating crimes, with many criminals and those who break the laws arrested and taken into custody, he said.

He said Cabinet has noted the recent senseless killings of civilians in Charlestown, as well as the murdering of Policemen.

Luncheon pointed out that while short-term measures were being formulated and implemented, efforts were also in train on the particular comprehensive strategy to counter the crime situation.

A `think tank' is gathering intelligence data of criminal activities and that information is studied by those equipped with the skills in doing the relevant analyses, he reported.

On the basis of these analyses specific operations and an overall strategy is planned, he added.

"So you are looking at the bits and pieces being implemented continuously and you are looking at the overall...plan that work continues to be carried out by this think tank - all with the objective of realising Government's policy, in so far as the presence of the criminals in Buxton is concerned", he said.

Luncheon recalled President Bharrat Jagdeo's reservations on the success of all the operations which were intended to achieve the primary policy objective of cleansing Buxton of the criminal gangs and to restore law and order in the community.