Reform of Police Force forging ahead – Top Cop

Under the Citizens Security Strengthening Programme (CSSP), efforts are underway to train police officers in a number of areas, including management and law. This is being done through partnerships with public and private tertiary institutions.

Acting Police Commissioner David Ramnarine, who recently detailed some past, ongoing and forthcoming training initiatives for both officers and ranks of the Police Force, has said: “Currently, as we strive to build capacity and capability in the Force, some 30 ranks are attending the University of Guyana on a one-month programme in Guidance and Counselling. Thirty-five have just benefited from various subjects, including Criminal Law, Legal Theory and Practice, Leadership for Law Enforcement, Human Resource Management, Internal and External Customer Care and chain management among other (things) at Nations University.”
Ramnarine revealed that, early in September, some 14 police officers and ranks are scheduled to undergo strategic planning and management training. He said this is being facilitated by the British High Commission under the reform programme.
“A large number of these ranks will be tasked with moving forward the work of the Strategic Planning Unit as we forge ahead with reform in the Guyana Police Force,” the acting Top Cop has said.
He recounted that 140 ranks have successfully completed a basic first responders training exercise at Project Dawn Centre at Liliendaal, East Coast Demerara (ECD) recently. The exercise was administered under Dr Zulficar Bux, the National Director of Emergency Medical Services.
“This drive to equip officers with people skills is certainly to ensure that they can effectively meet the demands that arise in a changing and evolving society, where law enforcement is also evolving,” he said.

Reform
The news of 911 facilities to be set up will be welcome news to many, as the Guyana Police Force has, over the years, come under heavy criticism for its poor response time to emergency calls.
The security reform project, which began in 2007, was scrapped in 2009 after the British Government had requested to have oversight of the programme to ensure that there was ‘value for money’.
The former Government had disagreed with the manner in which the British Government had wanted the programme to be run, claiming that Britain had sought to intrude upon Guyana’s sovereignty.
However, the British Government has said the Government of Guyana had submitted a different proposal, one which had focused on Police modernisation rather than a holistic approach to reform. The intention was to build a workable basis for improving national security while reducing crime in Guyana.
Government believes that, once implemented, Guyana’s security sector will be significantly strengthened; and, hopefully, this will lead to a reduction in the number of illicit activities that take place.
President David Granger has also said there is need for a stronger Police Force, one that is better equipped with all tools necessary to function adequately. Back in May, Foreign Affairs Minister Carl Greenidge had also provided an update on the project during a State visit to the United Kingdom (UK).
According to the Minister, talks surrounding assistance for crime and security had been at the top of the agenda, and he had given assurance that the coalition Government was keen on reactivating the security assistance mechanism, and that finances for the project could be dispersed early.
“I believe that that exercise will be completed before year-end, and there will be arrangements for some parts of those funds to be dispersed before the end of the year. I am very sure that that is the intention and the plan,” he had said, when asked to provide a timeframe.