THE Community Policing Organisation of Guyana (CPOG) will be celebrating 38 years of voluntary service to the people of Guyana.
The celebrations will begin with a press conference on February 26 and conclude with a Youth Conference in Bartica on March 15.
Activities are planned in every Community Policing Division with the main ones being celebrated in ‘F’ Division at Bartica.
The theme for the 38th anniversary is “Safeguarding communities through strengthened community policing leadership”.
Community policing in Guyana commenced in the year 1976 with the objective of harnessing the energies of willing members of communities across Guyana, in support of the work of the police, to achieve a crime-free society and to be responsive, together with the police, to the needs of the communities in respect of the necessity to maintain law and order.
To this end, Community Policing Groups (CPGs) were established in all police divisions within Guyana, with a view to crime prevention at the community level and protection of public property.
EXPANDED OBJECTIVES
Subsequently, the objectives were expanded to embrace development of youth clubs, health consciousness, road safety, environmental enhancement and any other activity of benefit to the community.
The membership of the CPOG, currently, consists of 268 groups with 4,244 members who, over the years, were exposed to training in policing, administration, domestic violence, trafficking in persons, interpersonal violence, fire fighting, road safety and first aid.
A release said achievements during the year 2013 were:
* revision of the CPOG constitution;
* splitting of the police divisions into smaller Community Policing Divisions;
* revision of the processes for the election of divisional and national community policing executives;
* provision of uniforms and vehicles to all CPGs;
* provision of VHF communication equipment in divisions where such equipment can operate and
* provision of safer vessels for river patrols
The release added that the Ministry of Home Affairs and the CPOG wish to thank the Government of Guyana for all the support rendered throughout the years “as we look forward to their continued support in years to come.”
