Latest update February 20th, 2025 12:39 PM
GPF ranks to be trained as pilots
Fifteen ranks from the Guyana Police Force have been shortlisted for a pilot training course that is expected to commence next year once funds are provided in the 2014 budget.
This initiative was in response to a challenge thrown out by President Donald Ramotar, at this year’s annual Police Officers’ Conference, to have ranks trained as pilots.
According to a source, subsequent to the conference, messages were disseminated for ranks with the requisite qualifications to apply to participate in the training activities. Applications were received and interviews were conducted. In the end, 15 officers were selected and are now ready to be trained.
Winston Felix
However, the training has not begun because the pilot course is very expensive and the Force is hoping that it would be budgeted for in the 2014 National Budget, the source said.
This initiative comes at a time when activities involving the movement of people and goods, and crimes are increasing in the hinterland region where the terrain does not always allow accessibility to land and river transport.
During an interview with this publication, former Commissioner of Police and A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) Member of Parliament, Winston Felix said Guyana needs a policy to address the issue of crime and it should include air, land and sea assets to fight crime in the interior.
Felix suggested that fighting crime in the hinterland is difficult because the police simply do not have numbers or the resources to deal effectively with crime.
“In the sprawling hinterland community there is need for an aircraft. The police should have adequate vessels and vehicles and a force of itself should have increased numbers that they can maintain a fighting strength to deal with the issues of the day”, he said.
He emphasized that if a policy is not developed, Guyana would definitely miss the mark, like the Force has been doing. For instance, robberies are being committed every week with one either in Georgetown, East Bank and East Coast Demerara, in Berbice, or in hinterland communities.
According to Felix, after 20 years in Government and Clement Rohee after completing seven years in Office as the Minister of Home Affairs, the Administration seems unable to develop a coherent policy to fight crimes.
“The Minister for his own part pays a lot of attention to peripheral such as to community policing, which has to be in support of the regular police. The Minister seems to be giving resources outside the remit of community policing groups. They are having shotguns and vehicles but to no effect and for obvious reasons. They are not police per se and that is the core issue affecting us,” he said.
Felix stressed that the modernization process announced by Rohee at the end of 2012 is in itself short. He explained that modernization process pays more attention to issues that are not necessary but sufficiently important.
“They dealing with things like administration, succession, planning and so on. We must agree they are important but not necessary. What is necessary for the force right now is for the investigative capacities of the force to be developed; we talking here about investigators of murders, robberies, Trafficking In Persons (TIP).”
The former Police Commissioner recommended a stronger intelligence gathering unit because robberies, break and entry, larcenies, TIP and other offences that are being committed are well organized.
He recalled that only recently a well known person in the private security sector was found with stolen items belonging to government and private citizens, which suggests that there a certain level of receiving in the society that still has to be detected.
In addition, the Guyana Women Miners’ Organization has been rescuing many women and children from the sex trade in the hinterland region, sometimes without the help of the police.
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