The Guyana Police Force yesterday mounted a specific intervention with a human rights focus in “D” Division (West Demerara/East Bank Essequibo) and this is to be done in all other policing divisions.

In what is being seen as a response to criticism levelled at the force following allegations of torture by police officers at the Leonora Police Station (‘D’ Division) of prisoners, including a 15-year-old boy who is hospitalised with burns to his genital area, the police in a release said it has in place an ongoing training programme in human rights which is conducted at the Felix Austin Police College (FAPC).

“Out of concern over recent incidents that have occurred in the Police Force, a specific intervention with a human rights focus will be done in all policing Divisions. This will commence in “D” Division (West Demerara/East Bank Essequibo) … where three one-day sessions will be conducted,” the release said.

The Police Force said also that some 1,348 of its ranks have received training in human rights at the FAPC while 35 other ranks have been “specially trained as trainers” in human rights locally and through courses conducted overseas by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Jamaica, Trinidad and Switzerland.

Each training course conducted at the FAPC has a human rights component and in addition there is a specific one-week training programme on human rights for which facilitators are also drawn from the Guyana Human Rights Association (GHRA). At the conclusion of this programme ranks are issued with certificates.

According to the police an approved training manual on human rights which has been designed by the GHRA is also used as resource material during the human rights training provided by the force.

Some of the areas to be dealt with in the training are Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officers, Human Rights, Ethical and Legal Law Enforcement Conduct and the Use of Force and Firearms.

This special human rights training for ranks in the policing divisions is being coordinated by former Senior Superintendent Patrick Robin who is one of the ranks trained in this area.