A hike in gun attacks this year has pushed the level of crime upwards, with a four percent increase in serious offences and a fifteen percent rise in gun robberies, Crime Chief Seelall Persaud said yesterday.
Persaud released the figures at the Guyana Police Force’s annual awards ceremony, where Detective Mitchell Caesar won the Best Cop of the Year award and Constable 18142 Morris was named the runner-up. Caesar received the Best Cop award for the second time since the start of his career in 1992.
Persaud said that the majority of gun-related robberies were committed within the capital,
with most being street robberies. He related that the police had seized 192 illegal firearms and 555,077 kilogrammes of marijuana, 20 kilogrammes of cocaine and 1.7 kilogrammes of LSD. 775 persons were detained and charged in drug related crimes.
The Crime Chief also reported an increase in murders from January 1 to December 17, where 136 persons were killed as compared to the same period last year where 131 persons had died.
He added that the number of fatal accidents had increased by one percent, with 106 persons being killed. He said that 98 fatal accidents were recorded for the year.
However, he said that the police force plans to tackle the crime situation by targeting prevention. He said that they plan to focus more on first time juvenile offenders.
“We will be working together with the three major faith groups in Guyana,” he said, hailing the collaboration as the “Cops and Faith Networks.”
He explained that juvenile offenders, especially those who commit minor crimes, would be given a second chance to change their behaviour rather than being tossed straightaway into the justice system. He said that the police have recognised that a large amount of youths are connected to crimes either as the offenders or the victims.
Persaud also declared that the police force was continuing to shape its reforms but he signaled that the impact would not be seen instantly, while noting that it had a more long term effect than short term. “The reforms are taking place incrementally and there is need for a certain percentage of implementation to take place before it really impacts in a significant way on the results of our operations,” he said, noting that the police force had integrated an electronic crime information system that would link police stations country-wide. The electronic platform has since been utilised by police stations on the coastlands, some stations in Region 10 and also in Bartica.
The system, he said, would provide information on reports of crime and the police response to those crimes.
He added that it would monitor the performance of each station as a whole. He said that the Police Force had lost 194 trained and experienced policemen and women so far for the year.
Persaud said that the Police Force’s annual awards ceremony would help to improve the proficiency of the force, since the ceremony had already generated competition among ranks to improve. He said that with the help of the community, the police force was able to pay out awards amounting $13.9 Million to 1,663 ranks, 23 Community Policing Groups and 34 individuals from Com-munity Policing Groups.
