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Police in move to improve security around Stabroek Market
Georgetown Police Commander, Simon McBean on Wednesday participating in a walkabout at Stabroek Market with the M&CC Chief Constable Mr. V. Gafur.
Kaieteur News – Just two days after the US Government warned its citizens that the market areas in Guyana are a haven for criminals, the Guyana Police Force (GPF) embarked on an exercise with the Georgetown Mayor and City Council (M&CC) to make them safer.
According a statement GPF posted on its Facebook page, “Police Commander of Georgetown Division, Assistant Commissioner Simon McBean met with M&CC’s Chief Constable Mr. V. Gafur on Wednesday morning as they sought to implement strategies to bring public safety to the market areas”.
Accompanied by officers, they even conducted a walkabout at the Stabroek Market Area to map out strategies for collaboration and policing in and around the “public thoroughfares”. The Force even promised to “immediately” provide resources to M&CC to have visible police presence in the areas mapped out and to continue collaborative efforts to make the local markets safer.
Minister of Home Affairs Robeson Benn, however, said that the move was not prompted by the Embassy’s statement. He called it a mere coincidence. The minister attempted to back up his response by saying that the Force can report statistics of the number of arrests and seizures it has made since November. His exact words to reporters were: “GPF has been working at this since November last, without the fanfare, congestion issue is the last outstanding to be progressed!! US timing coincidental.”
He claimed that the remaining issues that the Force had to deal with in order to decrease crime in the markets area were to reduce the congestion and install additional cameras and route monitors for buses. The US Embassy had issued a security alert on March 14, about the Stabroek and Bourda Market areas. It stated in the alert, “The City of Georgetown is rated critical for crime”.
The embassy highlighted that some of the crime that take place in the market areas especially at nights are: robberies, sexual assault and homicides. It moved to warn its mission personnel to not independently visit these areas alone. Kaieteur News and other media entities have on countless occasions reported on the high percentage of crimes that occur in the market areas, especially Stabroek Market. In fact, just hours before the embassy issued its security alert, surveillance cameras captured two motorbike bandits attacking a woman in front of the Silvie’s Variety Store-located in the Stabroek Market Area- and stealing her cellphone. GPF in the past had stated that it will increase its presence in these areas and procure a drone to conduct surveillance but crimes continue to occur almost on a daily basis.
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