Georgetown, Guyana – (January 13, 2016) While there is still a lot of work to be done, President David Granger believes that Guyana is beginning to win the war on crime. The Head of State made these comments in response to questions from members of the media corps, who were at the Ministry of the Presidency this morning for the Accreditation of Kuwait’s non-resident Ambassador to Guyana.
President Granger said he is pleased with the progress that the Guyana Police Force (GPF) is making at the moment.
“There are several measures; one of the most important thing that is not visible to the naked eye, is that our CID [Criminal Investigation Department] has been strengthened. Though we may not be able to prevent crimes from occurring in all those cases, we could detect those crimes and bring those people to justice very quickly. That has been one of the achievements of the Police Force over recent months,” the President said.
Other areas of strengthened crime fighting activity include the deployment of mounted police in the Rupununi and aerial surveillance of the coastland, which is having an impact on the incidence of piracy. Recently, there have been a number of arrests made soon after criminal acts were perpetrated.
Noting that his Administration inherited a situation characterised by gun running, smuggling and narco-trafficking, President Granger said that these problems did not begin in 2015. He said that there has been for over two decades, a tradition of disorder in the country, which the Government is working hard to arrest.
He said, “Early in our administration I set up the National Security Committee. I’ve met with the Commissioner of Police, the Minister of Public Security and the Prime Minister every week under the National Security Committee. We have committed ourselves to strengthening the police force, not only Operation DRAGNET but also enabling the police to have greater reach.”
Prior to the launch of Operation DRAGNET, which is currently being executed to tackle external and internal security threats, President Granger had indicated that the security of the nation’s citizens is a priority for the Government. This approach includes ensuring that the police force is strengthened by putting a lot of emphasis on equipment and training, ensuring the police officers are well-paid, deploying more police ranks to the hinterland and more patrols in vulnerable communities.
Additionally, the President continues to lobby the British Government to have Security Sector Reform Action Plan restored. President Granger has said that he is committed to making Guyana safe for all Guyanese and visitors to this country.
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