REGION Seven continues to battle with increased reports of rape cases and according to Police Commander, Rabindranauth Budhram, there were over 40 cases reported in Bartica for 2016.

The Commander said that most of the cases involved a relative being the perpetrator and police have taken steps to address this scourge, by going to the various schools to conduct educational sessions with students.

“We try to tell them that this must not happen, and if this happens, you must report it. Tell the teachers and the teachers will call the police, and we are going to take some action,” Commander Budhram said.

The awareness sessions are being held in collaboration with the Ministries of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs and Social Cohesion.

Meanwhile, aside from the rape, Bartica did not record any serious crimes; the Commander credited this to increased police patrols and the relationship the police fostered with members of the public following the launch of the ‘team policing’ programme.

“The team policing actually identifies who is operating where and what they are responsible for. For example, if two persons cover the arcade, they have to know all the persons there, interact with them, share their numbers, if they got a problem they call them and so on,” Commander Budhram said.

The aim of the programme is to raise the public’s confidence in police officers. “You can call and share information; we do not want to know who is calling, just the information we need.”

This move will aid in the intelligence-led policing efforts to prevent and solve crimes.