Members of the Guyana Police Force yesterday took part in a series of mock scenarios throughout the country as part of a security exercise to prepare them for Monday’s elections.
Stabroek News was unable to ascertain from the force the success of the exercise. Efforts to contact Crime Chief Leslie James and Assistant Commissioner for Operations David Ramnarine for comments were unsuccessful.
A senior police official told Stabroek News that what was done was a training exercise to ensure ranks would know how to act in the event of any “incidents” on election days.
The official said that while the force does not want to preempt any unrest, it “wants to be prepared just in case.” Asked what exactly the all-day exercise entailed, the official insisted that it was a regular trend in the lead up to any election and made it clear that the exercise was not an isolated one.
Among the scenarios were mock shootings and disturbances, which fuelled several reports yesterday that persons inclusive of police ranks had been shot.
Police had announced in a press release on Thursday that the exercise was to be held between 6AM and 6PM and that citizens ought not to be alarmed. The force also urged the public to cooperate with ranks during the exercise.
