Latest update June 4th, 2026 12:30 AM
Opposition calls for Anti-kidnapping unit
The recent kidnapping which led to the unfortunate demise of Enmore spare parts dealer, Rajendra Singh, has ignited strong calls by members of the political opposition for the establishment of an Anti-Kidnapping Unit within the Guyana Police Force.
APNU’s Shadow Minister of Home Affairs
While praises are in order for the Guyana Police Force for doing well in some areas, members of the opposition are now saying that the response to kidnappings has been poor and as such better mechanisms should be put in place to reduce the risk of losing victims in such cases.
Commenting on the issue, Alliance For Change (AFC) member Trevor Williams said, “It is paramount for the law enforcement bodies to stay one step ahead of the criminal elements within our society. This is not the first kidnapping incident and I would have expected that past incidents would have incited the establishment of an anti-kidnapping unit. But based on my knowledge, Guyana is still without a kidnapping unit. It is upon this background that I would like to make a call for such an important unit which would deal only with kidnapping.”
“Criminals are getting very desperate in Guyana and the geographic spread and challenging terrain make it hard to apprehend.”
The AFC Parliamentarian added, “It is important, especially for the Criminal Investigation Department to have relations with a specific unit that is equipped with hostage negotiation tactics and one that can also conduct behavioral analysis to better understand the underground criminal network. The response to the recent kidnapping which saw the death of that man reflects a number of things and the AFC stands firm in seeing that these issues are addressed. We have to look at these matters and correct the deficiencies of the Guyana Police Force so that we can have a better response to these situations.”
Opposition Leader, David Granger
When asked to cite one of his observations based on the response of the force to the recent kidnapping, Williams said, “One thing that comes into question is the Force’s crisis management skills. It needs to be strengthened.”
Leader of the Opposition, David Granger was also asked to comment on the situation.
“Well, we have taken a position that the basic problem in terms of policing arises out of their training, payment and supervision. We feel the training has to be corrected and what we see happening with certain types of crime is the failure to discern the causes of those crimes as in the case with the kidnapping.”
“What we do not have is the type of Police Force that can properly respond because of poor training and lack of resources,” Granger said.
He told this newspaper that rather than putting money into Community Policing Groups, it would be better to have a Police Force with a stronger Criminal Investigation Department (CID) “because people have to be able to build up a body of criminal intelligence and understanding of the patterns of certain behaviours. We don’t believe that the spending of money in the Community Policing groups is the right way to go.”
APNU’s Shadow Minister of Home Affairs, Winston Felix said that while he cannot give an account for anything after 2006, he could confirm that several senior officers of the Police Force had gone through a crash course in anti-kidnapping procedures when he served as Commissioner.
He said that the ranks were supposed to continue a more intensive programme but he is unable to say whether this was done.
While another senior member of the Guyana Police Force was able to confirm that the
AFC Parliamentarian, Trevor Williams
Force is without an Anti-Kidnapping Unit, Felix said that he would make a strong call for the establishment of such.
Businessman Rajendra Singh called ‘Sunil’, was kidnapped by two gunmen from his store at Foulis Public Road ECD two Saturdays ago in the presence of his wife and employees. A $50M ransom was the initial demand of the kidnappers but this was later reduced to $25M.
The kidnappers made several demands from the wife which included clear instructions that she not contact the police. But days after, kidnappers shot and killed their captive and his body was later discovered in the Le Repentir Cemetery on Wednesday last.
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