THE ‘D’ Division of the Guyana Police Force is reporting that since the launch of C-Pets, almost three months ago, by Commissioner of Police (ag), Seelall Persaud, crime in the division is at an all-time low.

C-Pets is a community-based and oriented project in which the police are working with social, religious and other groups to engage the citizenry.

Speaking with the Guyana Chronicle in a recent interview, ‘D’ Division Commander, Senior Superintendent, Ian Amsterdam, said the public has been responding very well to the programme, and the cooperation has been getting stronger.

Commander Amsterdam said all the communities on the West Coast and West Bank of Demerara have recorded lower crime rates, even as the objective of the programme, like the others across the country, is to share the burden of policing with the communities.

The commander specifically told the Chronicle that there has been a 76 percent reduction in crime in terms of serious offences compared with last year. In fact, he added that for the month of August, 7 serious crimes were recorded in the entire division.

Amsterdam said there has been no serious crime reported between July and September at La Parfaite Harmonie (At the time of the interview the incident in which Jason Munroe was burnt to death was not classified as murder).

The commander related that because of the amount of work the police have been doing in Tuschen and La Parfaite Harmonie, the crimes which were usually committed in those areas have now been shifted to other communities.

Last month, police in the division mounted a three-day campaign which addressed issues of traffic, serious crimes and other offences. Ranks were involved in stop-and-search operations and raids, and paid special attention to motorists who were speeding and driving under the influence.

Some 75 tickets were issued for speeding, while 15 were issued for driving under the influence and 27 for overloading. Besides, other cases had been made, the police commander told this newspaper, but those mentioned were the high-flyers with respect to offences.

For the month of August, the division recorded four fatal accidents, and according to Amsterdam, after the three-day operation the police were able to pull that figure back. He stressed that the ranks pay very close attention to patrons leaving night spots in the habit of speeding and driving under the influence.

In August, police in “D” Division reported 40 cases of driving under the influence. For that month also, the police conducted thirteen raids and mounted seven road blocks, and during those exercises seventeen persons were arrested, while seven were found with narcotics. The exercises were carried out by police on bicycles and on foot and mobile patrols.
Warrants were also executed, and during the August period several policing activities, including engaging the communities in a softer approach, were also conducted. Those contributed to less reports of crime, as those were not being committed.

Commander Ian Amsterdam and Superintendent Mansell have also been meeting with youth groups and stakeholders within the division, as they seek to strengthen the relationship they fostered with the formulation of C-Pets.

There were community visits, interactions with residents, and discussion for increasing the security of the division through various police activities.

Asked by this publication, Amsterdam said there are plans to establish a police outpost at the entrance of the new Parfaite Housing Scheme access road, while the long-term initiative through the Ministry of Home Affairs is to have a police station established in the area.

(By Leroy Smith)