-will integrate all police stations
A very significant aspect of the plan for capacity building in the Ministry of Home Affairs under the Citizens’ Security Programme was achieved Wednesday with the launch of the Integrated Crime and Violence Information System (ICIS), commonly referred to as Crime Observatory. The launch held at the Police Officer’s Mess, Eve Leary was the highlight of a series of projects aimed at improving the effort to control crime and violence in society.
The Crime Observatory was officially launched by Minister of Home Affairs Clement Rohee in the presence of other government ministers, Commissioner of Police Henry Greene and other senior officers of the Guyana Police Force (GPF). It is a collaborative effort between the Guyana Government and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).
Among the highlights was the formal handing over of the 2009 Report of the Crime Observatory to Minister Rohee by Clement Henry from the Research Unit of the Home Affairs Ministry, and a presentation by Crime and Security Programme Specialist Floyd Levi on the ICIS which is based on the following objectives:
* To provide an interactive system that presents the Ministry of Home Affairs and the GPF with access to other data bases which may be used to provide the complete profile of perpetrators and victims
* To enhance the overall efficiency and effectiveness of the justice system in Guyana through access to comprehensive crime data
* To establish a functional crime observatory which must have capacity for physical analysis and production of geo-reference materials on crime and violence in society, and
* To provide capacity for data management at the Ministry of Home Affairs and the GPF.
A key component of the ICIS is its capacity to integrate the work of the GPF with a number of key government agencies vital to crime and security in Guyana, such as the Department of Public Prosecution, Magistrates’ Courts, Guyana Prison Service , and the Guyana Revenue Authority.
Within the GPF, the ICIS enables the establishment of data centres at its headquarters and the Ministry of Home Affairs and the integration of all police stations via a wide area network.

With the new system in place, all criminal occurrences that have been reported at police stations throughout the country can be viewed and analysed at GPF headquarters and all other divisions.
Additionally, it provides electronic data access to the DPP and improves their function of advising the GPF without having to go through the lengthy mundane process.
The ICIS also brings on board the Ministry of Health and public hospitals in Georgetown, Linden, Bartica and Suddie, so that incidents of perpetrators or victims being admitted and receiving medical attention can be accessed in the event that information is not captured through the formal police reporting system.
The transport sector is also a key player onboard the programme as it involves the civil aviation, maritime administration departments and the Guyana Defence Force Coast Guard. The ICIS will allow easy tracking of aircraft and seaborne vessels.
A cross-border system is also part of the ICIS that will allow better management of border activities, particularly at Moleson Creek and at Lethem.
Minister Rohee, who described the programme as an important component in the changing architecture of the security sector, said it is expected to be robust and proactive, and will assist the actions of the law enforcement agencies.
It will allow the law enforcement agencies, particularly the GPF, to act in a more deliberate manner, to track criminal activities, to establish trends in the security sector. It will also aid in establishing those trends to formulate access to deal with those trends that are emerging in various police divisions, the Minister said.
The Home Affairs Minister highlighted the programme as the latest of many interventions by the Government in the security sector. Among these are the Intercept of Communication Act, the establishment of a National Intelligence Centre, and the upcoming plan to mount cameras around the city and its environs.
He foresees, however, the challenge of the programme addressing unreported cases and proper data coordination.
“For the crime observatory to be respected and held in high esteem, the results of the analysis must be based on data that is reliable and is tested in the field as well as correlated between government agencies and departments that are involved in these matters,” Minister Rohee said.
Nevertheless, the Minister believes that with the ICIS, a totally new frontier has been opened up in the security sector.
ICIS training is ongoing with the ranks in the various divisions, and will add to the many officers who have in the past benefited from Information Communication Technology (ICT) training. (GINA)