Granger convenes security meet to craft crime fighting plan

David Granger
David Granger

Concerned about the recent rise in violent crime, President David Granger will today convene a high-level security meeting to craft a crime-fighting strategy.

Sharon Baldeo
Sharon Baldeo

The Ministry of the Presidency last evening stated that Granger would convene the meeting as his first order of business following his return from the Caricom Heads of Government Meeting in Barbados.

The meeting, according to a ministry statement, will commence at 9 am at the Ministry of the Presidency and will include Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo, Minister of State Joseph Harmon, Minister of Public Security Khemraj Ramjattan, Commissioner of Police Seelall Persaud and Chief of Staff of the Guyana Defence Force Brigadier Mark Phillips.

The upsurge in crime was recently discussed at Cabinet.

Police have in the past linked a rise in crime to an increase in commercial activities during the July/August period.

Last month, new Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum had expressed concern at the force going into this period with a 9% increase in serious crimes. “…If we have a 9% now and we are going into that period, we wouldn’t be looking too good,” he had said.

Late former Police Commissioner Henry Greene, in 2010, had told Stabroek News that the police force had recognised that there was a link between the upsurge in armed robberies for hard cash and big entertainment shows headlined by international artists during the July/August period.

Rampersaud Shivcharan
Rampersaud Shivcharan

He said intelligence suggests that bandits try to get money before the shows.

Greene had singled out Jamzone, an annual entertainment affair that includes concerts and beach pageant organised by Hits and Jams Entertainment, as being one such catalyst. Previously, the event was held at the Splashmins Resort but now the entertainment company has built its own facility – a water park at Providence, East Bank Demerara.

Recently, there have been several murders and armed robberies

On Sunday, businessman Ganesh Ramlall was killed in a hail of bullets. He was confronted in the yard of his La Jalousie, West Coast Demerara home by four gunmen who after killing him escaped with his jewellery. Police have since said that the incident is being investigated as a robbery/murder.

Last Thursday, on the outskirts of the city, Sharon Baldeo was shot onboard a minibus. She was attacked when the vehicle made a stop at Eccles, East Bank Demerara. The attacker, who had been a passenger on the bus, was later nabbed.

Three bandits during last week held up staff at a Digicel store on Sheriff Street and escaped with a quantity of cell phones, phone cards and sim cards. A suspect was later nabbed.

Last Friday, two Corentyne families were robbed and terrorised by gunmen. A teenager was also shot in the face during one of the attacks.

Days prior, gangs of armed men brutalised and robbed two families at Corentyne and on the East Bank of Berbice. The attacked occurred one day apart and were committed late at night. In one of the attacks, ten men were involved and they were armed with guns and cutlasses. Cash and jewellery were stolen in both cases.

On June 28, Port Mourant businessman Rampersaud Shivcharan was shot and killed during a robbery at his shop. Three gunmen were involved in the attack.

Ragunandaan Persaud died on June 21, after he was hit in the head while being robbed by two men on a bicycle at Non Pareil, East Coast Demerara.

Also on June 21, Travis Rudder was shot dead as he laid in his bed at his Nandy Park home. His 18-month-old son and the child’s mother were also wounded in the attack.

On June 19, Rubis accountant Jason Cort was shot dead in his Meadow Brook home during a robbery. Three persons have since been charged.

Reginald Mandodh, a pensioner, was shot and robbed outside of his South Ruimveld home on June 19. He had just returned from a bank where he had gone to conduct business.

On June 10, Ravi Outar, a former policeman, was shot while sitting at his business at Rose Hall Town, Berbice. He later succumbed in hospital. The suspect in the shooting was charged but later freed after the Director of Public Prosecutions found that he had been charged in the absence of key evidence linking him to the crime.

A young miner, Keith Daniels, was knifed to death during a robbery in Kitty on June 8.

Colin Kendall was shot dead on June 7 as he sat under a shed in North Sophia.

 

On June 1, rice farmer Hardat Kissoon was shot dead when he was attacked by a robber while travelling on a Route 44 minibus. Kissoon had just left a city bank where he had gone to change a cheque and was heading to Mahaica where he lived.