By Ravin Singh

THE perceived escalation in crime over the last few months cannot be reduced drastically overnight, in spite of all the government is doing to curb it, says Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan.

Addressing the National Assembly on Wednesday in response to Opposition Member of Parliament (MP) Clement Rohee, Ramjattan contended that crime is indeed high, but not as high as it was under the former administration.

His proposition was supported by statistics released by the Guyana Police Force (GPF) recently, which revealed that there has been a 19 per cent reduction in crime for the first quarter of 2016, relative to the same period last year.

Several high-profile robberies and murders have of late aggravated Guyana’s already fragmented society, where calls for the government’s intervention have been mounting.

And Rohee, the former Minister with responsibility for Public Security, sought to question what the government is doing to address the crime situation in Guyana.

“What are you doing, Mr. Ramjattan? You say things are coming… While it is coming, people are dying,” Rohee said.

He charged that in addressing law enforcement and the crime situation in Guyana, one cannot ignore the human aspects, specifically the toll that the loss of human lives takes on those relatives left behind.

Minister Ramjattan, speaking passionately, told the House that the government is very concerned about crime, and that they too grieve for those deaths that have been the results of robberies and murders.

“We too grieve. And so it is important to understand that we have tremendous concern,” he said.

And this concern, he said, has been supported with action, as the government has been doing all it can in the current circumstances. These actions, he said, have been recording tremendous success.

Among the actions taken by the government since its assumption of executive office less than a year ago, are: The establishment of a suicide helpline office; the establishment of a fallen heroes foundation; the establishment of an occupational health and safety unit; decentralisation of the mounted branch to Lethem; social crime prevention projects in all divisions; the establishment of the division-based management information unit; movement of F Division headquarters to Bartica; the establishment of a group health insurance with GTM; and even libraries are being filled up with books such as the one in D Division.

These, the Public Security Minister said, help in curbing crime. He contended too that presently, it cannot be denied that Guyana is far more superior in relation to crime-solving than it was in the past.

“This is what the statistics are saying” he said, while charging the opposition not to play political football with crime and national security.

Additionally, he noted that the government is limited in its ability to develop the force in some regards, given present constraints.

“We have it contained and controlled, and we’re doing everything we can. But it requires more resources; it requires better recruits into the Police Force.

“We also want to ensure that there is more money given to the policemen, so that they can have their comfort level increased,” the minister said.

He also referenced the fact that the Finance Minister was required to channel over $21B to the sugar industry for the year, when this money could have been used to further equip the force. However, given the level of priority, the sugar industry could not have gone without that money.

But despite limited resources, Ramjattan was keen to note that international support will aid in the process.

“We have managed through President David Granger to ensure that the British are back and they are back through the Olive Group and they will support us. We are going to get Interpol. Interpol was here; they came in and are doing a basic needs assessment study. The DEA which was kept at bay by the last Government are here now and are also giving us support” Ramjattan said.

Finally, the minister underscored the role of the media, which he said, sometimes “blow it up.” He stated that the press has indicated that there seems to be an extremely high spike in the crime rate. However, he noted that it is important that we understand the crime situation in context, and as such, what appears on a front page, can often damage sensibility.

“Crime, which has been up for a long time in a society like Guyana is not going to be reduced drastically overnight. A lot of things have to be done and a lot of things are being done,” the minister confidently told the House.