CCTV cameras for all city streets …Gov’t to roll out major anti-crime initiative
A section of the gathering at the business forum
A section of the gathering at the business forum

GOVERNMENT will soon roll out a security initiative which will see all streets in Georgetown being monitored by Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) as part of its overhaul fight against rampant gun crimes here, Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan told a Toronto forum last Saturday. CCTV is a TV system in which signals are not publicly distributed but are monitored, primarily for surveillance and security purposes. CCTV relies on strategic placement of cameras, and observation of the camera’s input on monitors somewhere.
Speaking exclusively on the crime situation in Guyana, which according to the minister is not as serious as is being peddled, Ramjattan disclosed that several initiatives are on the burner to alleviate the burning problem and make Guyana a safe place to visit or even live. Chief among the plans is the proposed establishment of a command centre in Georgetown, which according to the minister has already received funding from the International Development Bank (IDB). The command centre, the Ramjattan explained, will be equipped with three hundred television monitors covering cameras on every street in the capital city.
Ramjattan said a decision will be made shortly as to where the command centre will be located and described the initiative as a huge development in the fight against crime since 66 per cent of the crimes in Guyana are committed in Georgetown. He also sought to underscore that the crime rate in Berbice, which had spiralled earlier in the year, has decreased significantly since his visit to the county and the subsequent deployment of more joint services ranks.
Admitting that the crime situation needed to be taken seriously, Ramjattan pointed out that it is obviously a herculean task, but vowed that the APNU+AFC coalition government will be the Hercules in surmounting it. According to Ramjattan, upon the assumption of office in May last, the new government discovered that the Guyana Police Force was some 2000 policemen under-strength; and among the reasons were the low salaries being offered and nothing being done to better them.
Ramjattan also disclosed that the international support, which formed part of the capital expenditure, which aided the cadet corps, training of detectives and forensics had not been adopted by the previous administration and “that’s why the British Security Sector Reform took back their $4M pounds and went back to London with it.” He however disclosed that through the efforts of President David Granger, the initiative will be re-started shortly.
The Public Security Minister also disclosed that help is also forthcoming from Canada in the form of the Justice Education Society, an institution which is responsible for the training of policemen, prosecutors and also magistrates and judges. Towards this end, a prominent Superior Court Judge and a team of educators are due in Guyana shortly to commence the proposed training.
The United States of America, Ramjattan pointed out, is also in the process of establishing a Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) office in Guyana which was first mooted by the PPP administration but is being fast-tracked by the present government and will be opened later this month. Ramjattan blasted the naysayers who, he said, are always going to make politics the practice of systematic, organised hatred in Guyana and these included the Guyana Times newspaper, Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo and other institutions in Guyana to say what they want, “but we are going to get the crime situation under control…” He posited that it has been declining unlike in 2014 and it is the intention of the present administration to have in place a far superior climate for would-be investors. The Public Security Minister also assured Guyanese who are willing to return and invest in Guyana that licences for firearms, whether on an individual or company basis, will receive priority treatment from his ministry and will be fast-tracked once the necessary applications are found to be in order.
Death penalty
Ramjattan also assured Guyanese here that he has no intention of supporting the retention of the death penalty in Guyana, since there is no record to support that it has served as a deterrent to would-be criminals. Ramjattan’s stance came in response to a question posed at Saturday’s Professional and Business Forum hosted by the Guyana-Canada Professional & Business Corporation at the Riverstone Golf & Country Club, Brampton, Ontario.
By Frederick Halley

 

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