MINISTER of Home Affairs, Mr. Clement Rohee said, last Friday, that the Government continued to invest robustly in the Guyana Police Force (GPF) in 2010.
He told a press conference that a total of $4.8 billion were allocated for current expenditure, while $.5 billion were for the acquisition of capital items.
Rohee said his ministry considered those allocations necessary when it took into consideration the critical role the police have to play in ensuring the safety and security of citizens.
He said, as was the case in many other years, 2010 was not an easy year for the police but was also a rewarding period for the force, in many respects.
Rohee said the GPF reported a total seizure of 106 illegal firearms in 2010, more than the 98 in 2009, in the comparative period to December 31, 2009 and 2010.
He revealed that two sub-machine guns were seized in 2010, none in 2009; five rifles in 2010 and two in 2009.
Rohee said that is an indication there is still present, in the society, the propensity of persons to acquire firearms illegally and greater effort will be made by the law enforcement agencies, in 2011, to eliminate illegal guns.
About police activities to combat the drug trade, he informed that the seizure of cannabis (marijuana) by the GPF amounted to 191,877 kilogrammes (kgs) in 2010 and 537 persons were arrested and charged for offences related to possession/trafficking in it.
Rohee said, in 2009, 183,198kgs of the same narcotic was taken into custody by the GPF and 465 persons were prosecuted for it.
Seized cocaine in 2010 amounted to 71kgs. 825 grammes and 132 persons faced prosecution. In 2009, 74kgs 905 grammes of cocaine was seized and 120 persons were charged.

Eradication exercises

He said, in 2010, eradication exercises were conducted by the GPF on 61 marijuana fields, spawning 97 acres, with plants weighing approximately 185,221kgs were destroyed.
In 2009, 119 cultivations, over 160 acres, with plants that weighed about 177,563kgs were destroyed and that was an indication that the GPF has been very busy in implementing its narcotics strategy, Rohee said, adding that the police continue to work with other law enforcement agencies to address the trade in illegal drugs.
He said the GPF, during 2010, partnered with the Ministry of Health in its Drug Demand Reduction Programme, in addition to other similar activities that were, independently, undertaken by the police.
Rohee, himself, convened the first ever retreat with management of the GPF on December 4, 2010, and the engagement was seen as timely, in light of changes taking place within it and the wider society.
He said the objective of the meeting was to help the leadership of the GPF to better understand the Government’s expectations and policies in relation to the security sector.
Rohee said a conference of inspectors and sergeants was held on January 18, 2010, under the theme ‘Promoting Effective Middle Management through Participation and Professional Development’ and participants left with a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities, as middle managers, within the GPF.
He recalled that the GPF hosted its Annual Police Officers’ Conference from February 11 to 13, 2010, themed ‘Providing Effective Security through improved Police-Community Relations’.
Some of the issues discussed then also included the global economic and financial situation; intelligence led policing and drug trafficking.
Rohee said the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) consolidated its operations in 2010 and was able to provide significant support to efforts at combating the drug trade.
He said CANU’s operations were strengthened at Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA), Ogle International Airport, Guyana Post Office Corporation (GPOC) and at other major entry and exit ports.
Rohee said 2010 saw CANU working more collaboratively with the other law enforcement agencies in the country and its operations were not only concentrated in the area of supply reduction but support was provided to the agencies that are, primarily, tasked with addressing reducing demand.
He said CANU recorded an increase in the 2010 seizure of cocaine when compared with 2009. In the latter year, 56 kgs 146 grammes were seized and 73kgs 634.3 grammes in the former, representing a rise of 31 per cent.
The seizure of cannabis in 2009 amounted to 52 kgs 474 grammes, in comparison to 5 kgs 71 grammes in 2010, when 21 grammes were also confiscated.
The number of persons arrested and charged, by CANU for drug offences, was 35 in 2010, more than the 23 in 2009.

Critical role

Rohee said the Home Affairs Ministry, cognisant of the critical role the Guyana Prison Service (GPS) is required to play in the criminal justice system, has been taking steps to ensure that it adjusts to meet the evolving challenges posed to a corrective institution.
While the GPS has to make sure that its incarceration arrangements are secure enough, the processes of reformation and reintegration of offenders form part of its overall objectives.
He said a strategic plan has been approved for the GPS and the expectation is that it will chart the path for the transformation into a modern penal institution, the hallmark of which will be an improved prison environment, better rehabilitation and reintegration programmes and a high level of professionalism amongst staff.
Rohee said the GPS placed more emphasis, in 2010, on the separation of first time offenders of a certain age from hardened criminals; enhancement of its agricultural pursuits; teaching of literacy, numeracy and vocational skills to inmates; recruitment of specialist and custodial staff and improvement of the professionalism of ranks, through training.
He announced that, in the past year, work commenced on the establishment of an internal cadet programme, as well as an agriculture development board and a Sentence Management Board.
Rohee said he expects each of those will be operational in the not too distant future.
He said, on August 7, 2010, a retreat was held with the management of the GPS, to address issues pertinent to its efficient managing and functioning and a number of important decisions were taken, in relation to the areas of training, welfare and recruitment.
Rohee also disclosed that, on November 13, 2010, a retreat was convened with the PrisonVisiting Committees (PVCs), to assess their overall functioning.
He said, at that forum, a new reporting format was adopted for immediate implementation.
PVCs are constitutional bodies, which exist at each prison location and they allow for civilian oversight of the prisons.
Rohee said the contributions of those committees have proven beneficial over the past years.
He also acknowledged that the GPS hosted a successful week of activities in the observance of Prison Service Week, from September 26 to October 2, 2010, under the theme ‘Celebrating Collaborators for Corrections’.
The programme included a concert, exhibition, debating competition and a luncheon in honour of collaborators.
Rohee said the 2009 prison population was 2,189, as compared to 2,160 at the end of 2010. Seven of the prisoners escaped in 2009 and five in 2010 while death in those years were nine and 13 in that order.

Outlying communities

In relation to the Guyana Fire Service (GFS), he said it continued, during 2010, to decentralise its operations to ensure that outlying communities were the recipients of better firefighting.
Rohee said that has been achieved, with support from the business community and public-spirited citizens and communities that received better protection from the GFS in 2010 were Bartica, West Coast Berbice and Rose Hall Town, Corentyne, Berbice.
Mahdia and Mahaica are targeted to benefit similarly, he said.
During 2010, a trailer pump and hose-layer were added to the fleet of firefighting vehicles, using some of the $104M allocation to acquire vehicles, tools and equipment, including for agricultural use and to reform prison facilities.
Rohee said, through the Home Affairs Ministry, the GFS, in the thrust to strengthen its operations there, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Ogle International Airport Authority, to, among other things, ensure that an increased level of and a sustained fire prevention service is provided at the terminal.
He said, towards institutional strengthening, the GFS has targeted, for construction and completion, a training facility at Leonora, West Coast Demerara, to provide for better training of its staff.
Rohee said it should be noted that all the activities that were undertaken by the GFS in 2010 were as a result of the implementation of its strategic plan and the recently formulated ‘Hinterland Fire Protection Plan’.
He said work will advance, this year, to achieve the full implementation of those plans.
Rohee said the GFS responded to a total of 1,569 emergency calls and conducted 2,035 building inspections in 2010.
Fire Prevention Week was October 3 to 9 with the theme ‘Promoting Safer Communities through Active Participation in Fire Prevention.’
He said the total 2010 allocation for the GFS was $124M and its undertakings included repairs to some fire stations and construction of one at Mahaica, East Coast Demerara, acquisition of accessories, purchase of vehicles, tools and equipment and communication apparatus.
Rohee said a retreat, held for the first time on January 15, with management of the GFS was to provide policy guidance in a number of core areas of its operations.