Overseas advance team working with local lawmen on security sector reform framework

A framework for the reform of Guyana’s security sector is being developed with members of an advance team working with Guyanese investigators to assess the strengths and weaknesses of our current security programme.

This was confirmed by Minister of State Joseph Harmon at Thursday’s post-Cabinet press briefing. Asked to account for the presence of foreigners at crime scenes in recent times, Harmon explained that the police force has several agreements with other law enforcement entities and “from time to time these persons come to Guyana and some of our persons go abroad.”

He further noted that one such initiative is the Security Sector Reform Programme (SSRP), which seeks to develop the sector as part of government’s systematic efforts to address crime.

“We are expecting assistance from the British under the SSRP. If you see persons here… they are an advance team as part of that overall reform looking particularly at the way we do policing. This is one positive of how we are addressing crime in this country, in a very systematic way.

We have to look at how the sector is dealt with. We have to look at best practices, and from time to time, we will get assistance from friendly countries in assisting us in these matters,” Harmon explained.