THE completion of the forensic laboratory, the fire service training school at Leonora, and the remodeling of 18 police stations in Regions 4 and 6 are among the services to be implemented with the $16.2B allocated in this year’s budget to boost the security sector. With the completion of the forensic laboratory, greater timeliness and effectiveness in investigations of criminal activities will be initiated, as efforts move apace to have improved investigative capabilities.
Finance Minister Dr. Ashni Singh, presenting the 2012 national budget estimates on Friday, stated that the laboratory will be supported by analyses in the areas of toxicology, histology, chemistry, biology and DNA, several of which were never before available in Guyana.
While work will also continue on the construction of the fire service training school at Leonora, which features live-in accommodation for 55 persons, along with two lecture halls and training tarmac, a new fire station at Diamond is also expected to become operational by year-end.
Eighteen police stations in Regions 4 and 6 will be remodeled and equipped with computers to support the operation of the Integrated Crime Information System, aimed at monitoring trends in crime and violence through a network which links the Ministry of Home Affairs to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation, all prisons and IT equipped police stations.
The $16.2B allocated for the security sector also caters for $949M to purchase and maintain equipment for the joint services.
During 2011, over $15.3B was expended to improve the operational capability of the security forces in the areas of legislation, infrastructure, equipment and training, with a continued focus on intelligence based policing.
In addition, the Finance Minister stated that in addition to the substantial legislative agenda pursued in 2011, other pieces of legislation, including the Anti-Gang Act and amendments to the Motor Vehicle and Road Traffic Act, are being drafted.
Further, key interventions made in 2011 included the operationalisation of an Integrated Crime Information System, the remodelling of police stations to accommodate a computerised environment, the placement of closed circuit monitoring devices in crime hot spots around the city, progress on the construction of the modern forensic lab, and the construction of a new training facility and a new fire station at Mahaica.
He added that $769M was spent on the acquisition of equipment to improve the operational capacity of the joint services.
“Over 300 security officers benefited from training in modern policing techniques, human rights, ethics consideration, and intelligence gathering. In addition, emphasis has been placed on the promotion of social cohesion in communities.
Through this initiative, over 6,000 persons benefited from anger management training, while over 1,000 youths were trained in various vocational skills, Dr. Singh said. (GINA)