Minister of Home Affairs Clement Rohee says some aspects of police reform have already been implemented and he expects the implementation of the security plan by mid-year.
Rohee said under these reforms more than 100 police stations would be upgraded and modernised like those at Fort Wellington, Grove/Diamond and Sophia, according to a Government Information Agency (GINA) press release. The minister said that the stations “will be configured in such a way that they take into consideration the new practices of a police force.” Some of the areas that the reforms would cover include the setting up of a SWAT team and organising training, an anti-crime unit and training in areas such as crowd control and driving. A SWAT team has been long promised by the government.
The government will be responsible for establishing a training centre for the force, building a forensic laboratory and establishing about 75 stations.
The government will also be emphasising community action and, in keeping with this, GINA said, the administration of the Citizen Security Programme (CSP) is underway. The CSP is geared to help reduce and prevent criminal activities and to boost the capabilities of the law enforcement agencies by establishing better relations with the public.
President Bharrat Jagdeo had said that one important aspect of the police reform was developing an integrated database for all police stations. He said “centralising those databases will result in sharing among the various police stations.”
