The U.S. Embassy today announced that through the Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement, it recently agreed to extend its financial support for the project to “Strengthen the Criminal Justice System in Guyana” until March 2021.
A release from the embassy said that the project will continue to build the capacity of the Guyana Police Force (GPF), the Chambers of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), and other justice sector entities through training and technical assistance.
Beginning in 2016, and with an original end date of 2019, the project so far has developed the GPF’s nascent forensic video analysis (FVA) capacity. The GPF, the release said, has also used FVA methodology and equipment in the successful prosecution of several cases. The project has also provided training and technical assistance in case management, including major crimes, crime scene management, evidence management and chain of custody, and law enforcement supervisory skills.
The Embassy said it has committed an additional US$850,000 to the project and extended the timeframe to a total of five years. In full, the Embassy will invest US$1,796,394 in Guyana’s justice system.
“The Embassy notes the work of the Government of Guyana to ensure the security of its citizens, counter transnational crime, and increase effective and timely prosecutions, and is pleased to collaborate with Guyana on these efforts. By the end of this project, the Embassy intends for Guyana to have a cadre of police officers and justice sector officials who will successfully pursue and complete effective evidence-based prosecutions”, the release said.
The Justice Education Society of British Columbia, Canada will continue to implement the project.
