Senior police officers together with representatives from the Attorney General’s Chambers and the Director of Public Prosecutions recently participated in a U.S.-funded specialized training course to assist security sector officials in strengthening coordination, communication, and cooperation in firearm trafficking cases.
Participants of the UNLIREC training course.
The course, conducted by trainers from the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC), addressed issues of firearm proliferation and armed violence, international instruments and legal frameworks related to firearm trafficking, and firearm crime scene management and chain of custody issues.
This course complements the January 2014 UNLIREC hand over to the Guyana Police Force and Guyana Defence Force of hydraulic shears and a small-arms ammunition burning tank to destroy weapons and ammunition.
UNLIREC received US$ 1.7 million from the United States Government to administer the destruction and stockpile management programmes in Guyana, and other countries in the Caribbean including Barbados, Dominica, and St. Kitts and Nevis.
Participants at the recently concluded training programme were awarded certificates of completion by U.S. Embassy Deputy Chief of Mission Bryan Hunt. Assistant Commissioner of Police Balram Persaud also attended the ceremony.
This programme, funded through the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI), helps strengthen capacity and provide practical skills to relevant security officials working in this critically important area.
Through such CBSI partnerships, the United States and Guyana seek to enhance the bilateral security relationship to create a partnership to combat transnational crime, develop strong security institutions in Guyana, and advance the safety and security of the citizens of Guyana.