– Minister Rohee tells ‘D’ Division CPG
MINISTER of Home Affairs, Clement Rohee, has called on members of Community Policing Groups (CPGs) in ‘D’ Division, West Bank Demerara, to build and expand the potential of community policing.
He was at the time delivering opening remarks at another CPG retreat exercise at the West Demerara Secondary School on Saturday last.
He explained that this exercise stemmed from an audit that was conducted of CPGs across the country with the sole aim of improving the system of community policing.
Referring to a recent tragedy in Leonora which left 16-year old Neesa Lalita Gopaul dead, Minister Rohee lamented the poor performance of the CPG in that area and reminded that apart from being the “eyes and ears” of the police, they also have a duty to be aware of what is going on in the community.
He added that the Division is not short of resources and urge the members to use the forum to devise workable solutions to deal with the issues confronting them.
Nevertheless, the Minister posited that Government appreciates the concept of community policing as well as the sacrifices that ordinary citizens are making in the interest of safer communities.
“Government will continue to provide the necessary support for CPGs because we see it as an important part of our crime fighting strategy,” Minister Rohee said.
He also urged members to engage in constructive criticisms during their deliberations in the interactive session which was premised on three main topics: problems affecting community policing, building and expanding community policing, and forging better relations with CPGs, the police and the communities.
At the end of the discussions, the members identified several issues that needed to be addressed and also made recommendations on possible solutions.
These include: lack of coordination between police and CPGs, poor performance by Rural Constables (RCs), lack of leadership in the Division, need for more vehicles, more involvement of the business and religious communities, regular meetings with more police support, lack of confidentiality in information sharing, more female and youth involvement, and more training.
In his closing remarks, Minister Rohee reminded that the police have a lot of responsibility in building, strengthening, and promoting community policing in Guyana.
“Guyana is the only country in CARICOM where the Government is providing so much resource to sustain the system of community policing and we see it as a positive investment,” he said.

The Ministry is moving to ensure that elections are held to appoint new persons in the divisional and national level of the community policing system.
Regional Chairman, Julius Faerber, encouraged the members to perform their duties with diligence as Government has been spending significant sums of money to raise the level of CPGs.

Divisional Commander, Balram Persaud said his division and the Guyana Police as a whole embrace fully, the system of community policing. He noted that crimes in the division have reduced since the last three months as a result of the collaborative effort between the police and CPGs.

In this regard, the Anna Catherina CPG came in for high praise, as their efforts led to the recovery of a firearm and the arrest of a felon, who is currently before the court facing charges on three counts of armed robbery.

According to the Commander, the Zeelugt CPG has also worked remarkably well in reducing drug-related activities in that area.

He noted however, that “we must not become complacent; we have to continue to press forward to rid this division of criminal activities.”

Thus far, successful CPG retreats have been conducted at A, C, E, F, and G Police Divisions.   (GINA)