Rohee proposes regional action, Greene promises GPF improvement
MINISTER of Home Affairs Mr. Clement Rohee said, last week, that Guyana has a relatively high murder rate.

Speaking at the opening of the annual Guyana Police Force (GPF) Annual Officers’ Conference in the Officers’ Mess Annexe, Eve Leary, Georgetown, he informed that studies conducted on the murder rate per 100,000 of the population in the Caribbean region, have indicated that it is hovering around an average of 30.

‘We are conscious that a stable and safe society is the cornerstone of the development of our country. To achieve this objective, it is necessary that we have a Police Force that is responsive to the ever changing environment in which we live…more community involvement in support of its work; a partnership is built between it and all stakeholders in the country, including the Private Sector, to provide an enabling environment for the country’s development.’  – Clement Rohee

“This points to the fact that the level of violence in the region is too high and must not go unnoticed and unaddressed by regional law enforcement bodies, government institutions and civil society,” Rohee said.
He said, while Guyana’s murder rate per 100,000 of the population was 18.5 in 2010, this country cannot be comfortable with such a situation.
Touching on other crimes, Rohee said trafficking in narcotics has posed a number of challenges in this region. It has forced governments to divert precious and scarce resources from other critical sectors to combat the trade.
He said it means that funds that could be channelled to the productive and social sectors of regional economies have to be applied to the fight against drugs.
“This is occurring at a time when the developed countries are more reluctant to provide aid, because of difficulties they, themselves, are facing, with their economies,” Rohee observed.
He said the issue of small arms use by criminals to commit offences in the region, along with trafficking in those weapons by smugglers has posed a significant challenge to all the countries and it requires regional action and strategies to arrest the firearms trade.
Rohee said young people are, increasingly, getting involved in gangs and violent behaviour, fuelling incidents of murder, robbery and other crimes in the Region.
“This worrying trend could curtail development in our countries. As part of the solution to this problem, more emphasis has to be placed on preventative strategies with the introduction of more purposeful programmes targeting youths at risk,” he posited.
Rohee acknowledged that acts of both international and domestic terrorism are of concern to all in the region.

PREVENTIVE MEASURES

He said: “Some persons may argue that terrorism is not our problem but we, in the region, have to be wary of the threat of terrorism and take preventive measures to ensure that our territories are not used as either targets of or bases for terrorists.”
The minister agreed that capacity building for law enforcement agencies is necessary, noting that crime and security challenges facing Guyana are drug trafficking and its spin-offs, domestic terrorism, murders, robberies, domestic related violence,
the involvement of youths in crime and gun violence.
He said the Government of Guyana, some time ago, recognised the need for an effective law enforcement strategy to address crime and security in this country and has not failed in its provision of adequate resources.
“We are conscious that a stable and safe society is the cornerstone of the development of our country. To achieve this objective, it is necessary that we have a Police Force that is responsive to the ever changing environment in which we live; more community involvement in support of its work; a partnership is built between it and all stakeholders in the country, including the private sector, to provide an enabling environment for the country’s development,” Rohee said.
He added: “It is apposite to note that the economic development of the country is critical to all of us.”
Police Commissioner Henry Greene, at the same forum, said, having looked at the statistics for the last few years, he observed that, last year, there was a significant rise in murders. However, when compared in categories, it was recognised that disorderly and domestic killings are dominating.
Giving a statistical account, he said 2010 ended with minus 12 percent, in terms of crimes, in comparison to the previous year and the police aim to improve in that area.
Mr. Greene said, so far this year, in  January and February, the Force has not done so well because crimes are up by  nine percent, mainly murders, robberies, burglaries and larcenies.
“We will review why and determine what we have to do to ensure that we can improve in these areas. We do not go down. We fight and come back up and that is why we have lasted so many years in this country and are going to examine our strategies and look at our criminal landscape,” he vowed.
Greene lamented: “We have too many illegal firearms that are coming in the country via our borders and assisting in the crime wave. We know where they are coming from but it is difficult to plug it.”
He disclosed that, last year, there were 109 illegal firearms found in this country and, in 2009, there were 82 while 2008 recorded 128, 2007 registered 715 and in 2006 there were 118.
The three-day conference was convened under the theme: ‘Consolidating our gains through effective strategic planning and institutional modernisation for safer communities.’