The Ministry of Home Affairs and the Guyana Police Force are to continue to collaborate
with the Private Sector and other stakeholders towards a Crime Stoppers programme and
the resuscitation of a mechanism for the sharing of information between the police force
and the private security firms.
In a statement today, the Ministry of Home Affairs said it recognizes the critical
role which the Crime Stoppers programme and and the information sharing mechanism known as
POLSEC could play in enhancing public safety and security.
The crime stoppers programme has been on the agenda of the ministry over the last five
years but has not taken off because of the apparent lack of public interest.
The statement from the ministry said that the National Commission on Law and Order
met with the representatives from the Private Sector Organisations on
September 14, 2011 and had discussions on the resuscitation of the Crime Stoppers
Programme and POLSEC.
POLSEC, the ministry noted, is the acronym for Police Security Industry Partnership which was
conceptualized in 2003, by the Private Sector Commission, and the Guyana Police
Force.
“This involves sharing of crime and security information between Private
Security Firms and the Guyana Police Force. A dedicated phone line with the
telephone number 592-225-0554 has been assigned to receive the information. No
rewards are given to persons who share crime tips to the Guyana Police Force.”
The Crime Stoppers Programme is similar in nature to POLSEC, however, tips taken from
citizens are passed on to law enforcement and investigated and if an arrest and conviction
arise out of that information, rewards are provided. Observers say that the poor record of the
police in investigating and arresting would be likely deterrents to the programme succeeding.
The statement noted that the Crime Stoppers programme entails setting up a hotline or
hotlines (telephone numbers) where members of the public are encouraged to call in and
give anonymous information about crime. This information is then referred to the
relevant law enforcement agency and in some cases rewards are given.
The anonymous payment method used in a number of countries is that all callers are given
code numbers when they contact Crime Stoppers. If the caller wishes to claim a reward,
they nominate a branch of a particular bank and the caller goes to that bank and
asks for the manager and provides their code number and the amount of the reward,
the statement noted.
