Embracing technology
Crime Chief Lyndon Alves
Crime Chief Lyndon Alves

…new crime chief to place heavy focus on technology to solve crimes
…urges more cooperation from businesses

NEW Crime Chief and Deputy Commissioner of Police Lyndon Alves, has said that for the Guyana Police Force to be successful in solving crimes, it must embrace technology as a key weapon in its armoury.

He also appealed to businesses to cooperate by making available their CCTV footage, which can aid in identifying suspects in criminal offences. “We are moving based on technology and that is one of the things I am strongly pushing: for us to now utilise technology to solve crimes, particularly murders dealing with DNA; and we are also looking at video interviews, which we have already started doing” Deputy Commissioner Alves told the Guyana Chronicle during an exclusive interview on Wednesday.

Alves was among four other assistant commissioners of police who were appointed by Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, President David Granger in August of this year. He said that one of the areas where the technology capacity of the force is already in train, has to do with the use of CCTV cameras. “What we have observed is that there are a lot of businesses out there who have CCTV mounted on their premises and businesses, but they are very low-rated but we have been able from the Guyana Police Force perspective to now have the capacity to enhance those images to a point, so that we can be able to see what’s on it and who are involved.”

The crime chief indicated that there is a practice which is of concern to the Guyana Police Force and should be of concern to any law-abiding citizen and those who have a notch for security. “I would urge businessmen to seek out the professionals, acquire high-quality cameras so at the end of the day it is not just there as a deterrent, it is there to capture in the case that something goes down. We have also found that persons have cameras mounted on their premises and when something happens, either in close proximity of that business place when you go to the places and attempt to get the images from the DVR, we are told that the cameras are not working, it is just there as a bluff.”

Deputy Commissioner Alves encouraged those who have CCTVs mounted on their buildings to have same checked regularly and also encouraged them to ensure that when things take place on their premises or close by, that they are willing to share the images with the police and not to be afraid of their identity being revealed. He further added that it is for this reason that he is also pushing the issue of confidentiality among ranks and in dealing with investigations and members of the public.

Leadership
As assistant commissioner and in his previous ranks, the now deputy commissioner was asked what special skills he thinks he has brought to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID), he responded: “What is important to the success to the Criminal investigation Department is strong leadership, we must have a vision; we must know where we want to go and check and see where you are at and then you plan, based on your vision and mission how you intend to get there and what you will do to get there.

So with an operational background coming out of the operations department that will do well in enhancing the capacity and capabilities of the Criminal Investigation Department to achieve its mandate to this nation,” Deputy Commissioner Alves told the Guyana Chronicle.

Asked about his vision for the CID, he said among the issues of primary focus is to ensure that training, capacity-building, building on the strengths and improving on the areas of weakness, while also positioning the right persons in the right areas and filling gaps. Alves also spoke of the issue of a wide gap between the members of the public and the investigators and by extension, the force, which he as head of the Criminal Investigation Department, does not wish to continue working with such an existing gap. “Very important is to rebuild the trust we once enjoyed and we are also looking at honesty and integrity among the ranks who work within the department; and wherever it is found that there are corrupt elements in the CID, they will be immediately removed and necessary lawful action taken against them. I will not be the person in charge of addressing matters of criminal nature and have ranks working under me, who are part of any criminal network or operations,” The crime chief firmly stated.

So far, since taking over the department, Deputy Commissioner Alves said that he has not had cause to reassign any of the officers, as he is still assessing the needs of the department, coupled with the capacity which currently exists. He stressed that he has been doing some needs assessments to see if the persons who are currently functioning are better suited where they currently serve, or if there may be need for them to be reassigned. “As it is now, there is no need to reassign anyone, but based on the dynamics of this organization, there are more than likely going to be some movements based on their skill setting and the vision of the Criminal Investigation Department to clear up at minimum 90% of the crimes perpetrated against members of the public,” Alves asserted.

As crime chief, Alves is responsible for the offices of the deputy crime chief; narcotics; the Major Crimes Unit; Cold Cases Unit; Fraud; and the Criminal Records Office. There are also the divisional detective officers, who have direct oversight of detectives who are working in the various divisions. Those officers report to the crime chief also or to his deputy. The divisional detective officers also have a mandate to report to the respective divisional commanders, under whom they directly serve.

There are sergeants within the sub-divisions who report to his or her officer, who then reports to the divisional detective. The divisional detective in turn reports to the commander and subsequently the deputy commissioner, law enforcement. Shortly after his elevation to the current rank and responsibility as crime chief, Deputy Commissioner Alves met with his divisional detective officers, as well as investigating ranks from ‘A’, ‘C’ and ‘D’ Divisions, as well as those from headquarters where he spoke of his vision for the CID. “I spoke to them about giving the members of the public the value for their tax dollars; and that the department would rebuild the trust that we would have lost due to rogue cops, because back in the days we had persons having respect for the police, so we need to respect each other so that the members of the public can respect us,” stated Alves. The crime chief is also looking to engage members of the public through community meetings in keeping with the commissioner of police’s vision of meeting the masses.

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