– as Force gears to add aviation to growing portfolio

THE Guyana Police Force has commenced a process that will see the service expanding to include an aviation wing.
The announcement was made on Thursday by Commissioner of Police, Leslie James, during a familiarisation tour of ‘C’ Division, East Coast Demerara.
The top cop declared that things will be implemented as the Force continues pushing ahead to modernise itself.

He said that in addition to the overall infrastructural upgrade of the organisation, air support is paramount.

“Air support is under consideration, and helicopters and aircraft are being looked at. If we are going to be an investment destination, part of our police capabilities must include air support,” Commissioner James told a gathering of ranks and officers.
He pointed out that the assets are part of the Forces in developed countries and even developing countries are moving along that vein.

Commissioner James also made mention of works which were done in the past with about six members of the police force who were trained in the area of aviation and are now pilots. He called on the other members of the force who may have an interest in aviation to be on the lookout for when the force does its internal advertisement, where applicants to proceed on a similar course would be sought.
“There are exciting times ahead for the Guyana Police Force and there are better times ahead also. You as members of this force are reminded to never lose sight of this,” James told the gathering.

According to James, Guyana is poised to become a state where lots of persons would be looking to settle and invest here, and with that in mind one must understand that needs such as capabilities of the premier law enforcement agency in the country is expected to rise to the challenge.

He further stated that there are several other aspects which are in train for the Guyana Police Force, many of which cannot be made public at this point.
The top cop, however, stated that as it relates to the marine capabilities of the Guyana Police Force, that unit would also be enhanced to deal with the coastline and borders with rivers and waterways.

There are also aggressive moves which are being examined to ensure that the vehicles and police stations are equipped with the most modern technologies to enhance the force and its response capabilities.

Contacted on Thursday, Minister of Public Security, Khemraj Ramjattan agreed that the move for the aviation section of the force is indeed ambitious, and one which the powers that be are seriously talking about.

He attributed all of what James said to being steps to bring the Guyana Police Force in line with the security reform process which will, no doubt, put the organisation in a better position.

“Look, it’s a plan of action which ties into the British Security Reform. However, much is dependent on resources, and we do have the resources,” Minister Ramjattan said, adding:
“We will have the aviation section, which would help the police force tremendously.” The Minister continued as he pointed out that there are also several other aspects which would have to be considered with going along this route, and that speaks to the issue of engineering and maintenance which the force has to also look at seriously.

“We have to depend on the revenue streams, and this is an extremely positive thing. So we have to ensure that we are also getting the personnel to deal with this,” the minister said.