Integrated Crime Information System
THE GOVERNMENT of Guyana, with the support of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has undertaken the reform and transformation of the Guyana Police Force (GPF). This is a key element of the Citizen Security Programme (CSP), which will see it migrating from an incident-driven reactive institution to one that relies on analyses of patterns, incidents and problems.
The design, development, and implementation of an Integrated Crime Information System (ICIS) is a major initiative of this reform. It will enable the Police Force and the Ministry of Home Affairs (MOHA) to create an enabling environment wherein comprehensive, up-to-date crime-related information is readily available and shared through the use of modern technology.
The ICIS is a major deliverable of the IT component of the CSP, linking police stations with Police Headquarters, the Ministry of Home Affairs, and the Guyana Prison Service in one network to allow for a seamless flow of information. These are mainly reports taken at police stations.
To date, Data Centres have been built at Force Headquarters, Eve Leary, and at the Ministry of Home Affairs, and twelve police stations have been installed with networking desktop computers and connections to the Centres. Through this intricate networking system, all reports of criminal occurrences, traffic offences and other law enforcement-related data are available on a real-time and permanent basis.
Home Affairs Minister, Mr. Clement Rohee has noted that the ICIS is a highly sophisticated system of networking between police stations at the sub-divisional and divisional levels where, through the databank, information on crime is analysed at the Crime Observatory to determine trends and patterns. The police are provided with the results that will inform on the necessary actions and interventions.
The Minister pointed out that this is now allowing for the movement of analyses on a monthly and weekly basis to a daily one because people want real-time action.
According to IT Specialist Floyd Levi, because it was recognised that this was something new being introduced to the GPF, the Felix Austin Police Training College at Eve Leary was refurbished and outfitted with twenty-five computers, and training was completed for all of the police recruits who would be operating from the Data Centre, as well as all other personnel earmarked to work within the ICIS, including those at the police stations.
The ICIS, as a main element of the modernisation of the GPF, aims to give this organisation all the information it needs to tackle crime. It is important that this information is readily available for the Commanders and Police operatives on the ground. The system also allows persons at police stations to access information on the Server at Force Headquarters, providing them with the ability to respond to any given situation on the ground.
Prior to the introduction of this technology, the GPF had a manual system of recording data. These were done on ledgers, over fifty of them, a time consuming and laborious job that would have been transmitted on routine basis, weekly and monthly, through the chain of command. The new system now allows for instantaneous reporting and access.
The CSP and the GPF are confident that the introduction and operation of the ICIS will improve the efficiency in the way the police tackle crime. The analyses at the Crime Observatory will allow Commanders and Officers to pre-emptively address issues that might have been apparent by looking at the trends and the way crime has been evolving.
So far, twelve police stations have been equipped with this capacity and the long term intention is to capture all the stations across the country. The system will also get input from the Magistrate Courts as part of the Criminal Justice System as well as from other Governmental Agencies involved in law enforcement activities, including the GRA, CANU and the GDF Coast Guard.