Inspector A. Alexander was judged to be the ‘Best Cop’ over the past year as the Guyana Police Force yesterday recognized 57 of its members for commendable performances.
Alexander was presented with a plaque and he received the largest monetary prize which was a sum of $250,000. Alexander was also recognized as the ‘Best Cop’ in the ‘E & F’ Division, for which he received a second plaque and an additional $150,000.
Best Cop runner-up was Inspector J. Harper, who was awarded a plaque and $200,000 and was also chosen as the ‘Best Cop’ of ‘D’ Divi-sion, for which he received a plaque and $150,000.
Also in the ‘Best Division Cops’ category were Constable 18334 Cosbert of ‘A’ Division, Constable 13832 Khadoo of ‘B’ Division, Constable 19151 Ross of ‘C’ Division, Sergeant 17539 English of ‘G’ Division and Deputy Superintendent K. Pareshram from Police Headquarters. They were all awarded $150,000 each and a plaque.
Special awards were also granted to sportswoman and sportsman Lance Corporal 20314 Alder and Constable 20726 George, respectively, in the form of $100,000 and a trophy each.
Taking home $50,000 and a trophy each were sport personalities Sergeant 15217 Morris and Sergeant 8909 Phillips, male and female, respectively.
Police Commissioner Henry Greene, in making his address, said that the Guyana Police Force’s general performance has been good, while noting that the murder rate has decreased this year.
He reported that there were 132 murders in 2010 as compared to the 120 recorded for this year and he further stated that a high number of murders occurred in the interior. He noted that 39 murders were recorded in the interior.
He pointed out that knives, cutlasses and other instruments as opposed to firearms have been increasingly used in the commission of murders. However, he said, a good lid on crime has been maintained.
Greene stated that the police have generally been able to recognize gangs and have been able to focus on them after collaboration with members of the Tactical Services Unit. This partnership, he said, has led to many of these gangs being brought to justice.
In relation to traffic-related deaths, 2010 saw 111 while 2011 saw 110. Greene also said a number of programmes have been implemented which will help in the modernization process of the police force.
“We are creating domestic violence rooms, ID rooms, interview rooms and IT rooms. This will benefit the force significantly in time to come,” he said.
Greene reported that the modern training centre has been completed. “It has a modern flare, it has been designed for modern classrooms, modern environments and we expect to do courses there and persons from overseas to do courses there,” he stated.
He also said that this building is in addition to the centre planned for Dora but work there is stalled due to the lack of funds. “This is where training is supposed to move to but there is some problem with the funding. We have the land and are waiting on the funding to start clearing the land, fencing and putting up a few buildings,” Greene noted.
Also, the Commissioner pointed out that the force continues to work with scouts and is introducing new programmes such as information technology, laboratory work and even horse riding.
“You have to work on the young people. The young man today is the adult tomorrow…and the young criminal today is big criminal tomorrow… take them from young and they are not likely to go into a life of crime as they become older,” Greene said.
