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Police to get vehicles earmarked for CPGs
– Ranks will be surcharged for misuse of public property
Minister of Public Security Khemraj Ramjattan has ordered that vehicles earmarked for use by Community
Minister of Public Security Khemraj Ramjattan
Policing Groups (CPGs) be transferred to the Guyana Police Force to bolster their response to surging criminal activities.
The Minister made the decision on Monday during a meeting with Commissioner of Police Seelall Persaud to address the current crime spike, which he described as worrying.
Kaieteur News understands that during the meeting the Commissioner pointed to the lack of vehicles to effectively patrol areas where crime is prevalent.
Presently, the Ministry of Public Security is in the process of registering 16 vehicles, which were ordered by the previous administration to be distributed to Community Policing Groups around the country.
This would have been added to the 23 already in the hands of CPGs, at a time when the principal law enforcement body is in dire need of vehicles.
“I suggested that the CPG vehicles be transferred to the Police Force to assist in patrolling. Areas were identified where there are no vehicles,” Minister Ramjattan told this newspaper.
Among the areas where priority will be given for the deployment of the vehicles are the West Demerara, Divisions A, B, C and D, as well as Lethem, where there are reports of an increase in cattle rustling.
According to Ramjattan, six of the vehicles are already in the compound of the Ministry of Public Security on Brickdam, while the remainder is to be delivered soon by the importer.
There were suggestions that the Guyana Police Force was being starved of equipment
These police vehicles have been lying dormant for want of repairs for several months now.
to effectively carry out its mandate, at the expense of the Community Policing Groups. There was the perception that the previous administration, with Clement Rohee as the Minister of Home Affairs, was placing most of its trust in the CPGs, since it was felt that the Police Force was not at their beck and call.
“It just goes to show where the previous minister was placing his emphasis,” a senior police official who did not wish to be named told Kaieteur News.
Following Monday’s meeting with the Commissioner, Minister Ramjattan indicated that the move to transfer the vehicles that were earmarked for CPGs to the Guyana Police Force was in no way to be seen as undermining the role of the back-up law enforcement bodies. He made it clear that based on budgetary allocations to his Ministry, the vehicles for the CPGs will be returned.
The Minister said that the present move is just to ensure that the police force will be in a better position to deal with the current crime situation.
“It is a measure I have to take to relieve the crisis faced by the police to reduce crime,” the Minister stated.
Ramjattan, who will be officially handing over the vehicles to the force tomorrow, warned that those who do not exercise care in the use of public property will be dealt with.
According to Ramjattan, too many police vehicles are ending up in mechanic shops way before their scheduled service dates. Some of them remain there for months.
“We will surcharge police drivers who go off on frolics of their own and unauthorized missions. A logging system will have to be put in place. This is costing the treasury and it is also costing the people their safety,” the Minister said.
He said that other matters were discussed with the Commissioner of Police, but these will be addressed at another point in time.
Criminal activity is showing a spike, with armed robberies setting a worrying trend. Reliable sources have indicated that most of the robberies are being committed by characters who are no strangers to the law, but who are somehow managing to avoid capture.
“These are not new criminals. They are persons who would have served time and those who are out on bail, having been charged for similar offences,” one source told this newspaper.
When asked if the granting of bail to known suspects is compounding the situation, Minister Ramjattan said that he will be reviewing it to see whether these persons are indeed involved before making any pronouncement.
“I haven’t seen the statistics, so I don’t want to address that at this time,” Ramjattan told this newspaper.
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