Clement Rohee
In light of the recent increase in criminal activities throughout Guyana, Cabinet on Wednesday gave the greenlight for the establishment of a Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) Unit for the Guyana Police Force to strengthen its law enforcement capabilities. It is envisaged that with a SWAT Unit, the force would be more equipped to make specialised interventions, thereby ensuring law and order is maintained and prospective threats are neutralised.
The Home Affairs Ministry in a statement said it has engaged the services of The Emergence Group (TEG), a Washington-based consultancy firm, to obtain the requisite assistance in this initiative.
It further disclosed that the process will commence shortly with an organisational needs assessment to be done by experts from the consultancy firm. The statement added that curriculum development and training, including mentoring, will also be undertaken by the consultancy firm.
“The establishment of a SWAT team has received the full support of the leadership of the Guyana Police Force,” the statement highlighted.
Crime Chief Seelall Persaud said the police force, a number of years ago, had proposed the establishment of such a unit and he is elated that it will now become reality. The unit, he said will boost the force’s intelligence and responsive capabilities.
Persaud explained that before the unit becomes operational, a number of factors have to be taken into consideration, including the identification of a school to train the prospective members, the procurement of equipment required, among other things.
The crime chief added that once these issues are addressed, then the members of the proposed SWAT team will be pulled from the existing police complement.
Opposition Leader, retired Brigadier David Granger disclosed that discussions on the SWAT Unit has been in the making for the past 12 years, and more so, he recalled that a specific team of policemen had been trained by U. S. experts, but were never put into action.
Support
Meanwhile, at recent press conference at his Brickdam office, Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee said, “Whether it is a string of incidences, robbery under arms, resulting in deaths or whether it is an individual incident, the Home Affairs Ministry will always be concerned about those matters, we are not insensitive, we are not numb to such eventualities.”
Rohee said the ministry has been ensuring that adequate resources are presented through the budget to the police force to make sure it has the resources it needs to fulfill its lawful responsibilities.
He said also that the ministry has been making resources available to ensure that the policy of the force, as distinct from the operations, is reflective of central government’s thrust in fighting and detecting crime.
Government has been regularly increasing budgetary allocations to the security sector, and Minister Rohee has been implementing a series of measures to modernise the local service, with a focus of giving it a technological edge.
These interventions aim to address the force’s lingering deficiencies, and improve its capacity to respond to a more sophisticated type of criminal operative.
