A worrying trend that is no real surprise

Mar 10, 2015 Letters

DEAR EDITOR,
It is no real surprise to me that, according to the AmericasBarometer Survey, Afro-Guyanese are said to have less trust for the police and the government of Guyana. It’s a trend which I have been noticing for the last six years (ever since my return from the USA).
On several occasions I have written to and otherwise approached the hierarchy of the current administration, expressing the need for a comprehensive approach to crime and recidivism in Guyana.
In detail I documented my work in the US as a Chaplain among the offender population, and I showed the authorities the benefits of implementing such a plan.
I reminded them that the Indian and African races in Guyana are about even in their distribution, however, the incarcerated Blacks in all the five prisons in Guyana is more than double those of the Indians.
I explained to the government functionaries that this disparity of incarceration could be linked directly to several factors; e.g. economics, lack of political access, the environment, education, family values/training, etc. I went further to show that if the government sets up an inaugural, post-release, rehabilitation programme in Guyana, for those returning from prison, several of the career-criminals will seek alternatives to their practice of crime.
I shared with them statistics that showed that even while the US economy tanked a few years ago, crime also comparatively went down. I pointed out to them that that was because the US Government heavily invested monies into faith-based organizations, particularly those who provided services to the offender population.
Ask any former inmate and he will tell you that the prison stigma is a huge hurdle when it comes to rehabilitation and reintegration into the society. Any ex-offender will tell you that they would welcome a programme that would assist with their transition back into society – a programme that works with the judicial and prison systems to provide temporary housing, vocational training, like skills, academic tutelage, substance abuse counseling, employment and spiritual formation.
I went further to show that inasmuch as most of the prisoners and ex-offenders in Guyana are Black, it would make sense for an Indian administration to show that they truly care about these citizens and this obvious disparity in incarceration. The ex-offenders are complaining that while there are no rehabilitative programmes for them, systems are being put in place to capture and incarcerate them. They point out the expansions of the Brickdam lock-ups, the expansion of the Georgetown and Lusignan prisons and the expansion of the police force. They are wondering why some monies could not be spent to assist them in re-establishing themselves after they had served their time in prison.
In recent years, Guyanese have been noticing a spike of young Indian boys becoming involved in street (blue-collar) crimes. Some have even been shot and killed by the police. This trend, too, has some obvious causative factors, which includes the inter-relationships of the races, the prevailing economic situation, the prevalence of the Gangster-style music, the lack of spirituality, the copy-cat syndrome, etc.
I pointed out in my meetings with the government officials that a holistic, proactive, approach to ex-offender rehabilitation could also reduce this growing trend.
However, over the years I have failed miserably to convince the current governmental administration that such a holistic approach to ex-offenders’ rehabilitation would drastically reduce the incidences of crime and recidivism in Guyana. So I am not the least surprised that the Afro-Guyanese are listed by the Latin American Public Opinion Project (LAPOP) as having a “declining trust” in the police and government of Guyana.
I would hope that whoever takes the governmental reins in a few months takes a serious look at the crime situation in Guyana and puts tangible systems in place to reduce crime and recidivism in Guyana. A holistic ex-offenders’ rehabilitation programme would be a good start.
Pastor W. P. Jeffrey

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