HOME Affairs Minister Clement Rohee told those gathered for last Friday afternoon’s opening of the Agricola Police Outpost, that the opening was a ‘positive’ signal of a closer relationship between the police and the community being fostered.

The Agricola Police Outpost is housed in the upper flat of the McDoom Post Office at East Bank Demerara, and the upbeat minister declared its inauguration a “bright spot” for the police, even as he urged residents to walk on the sunny side of the law.
Quoting the late legendary Jamaican reggae superstar Bob Marley, Minister Rohee said, “Rasta man vibrations is positive vibrations!” and added that the Agricola Police Outpost is the ninth such for Sub-Division Two.
He posited that the police Outpost and presence in the community is the vehicle to close the gap and fill the void between the police and the residents.
He encouraged the ranks based there to adopt the policy of friendship, whereby they should support and serve the community and act on reports made at all times, and do so in a very timely manner.
The minister added that Agricola deserves a permanent police presence to protect and serve residents who support and uphold law and order, because the police have been engaged in many activities to enhance the relationship with the villagers, and as such, have since established a Scouts group in which youths are engaged in meaningful activities.
Rohee told the gathering that Agricola is a place where an overwhelming amount of residents support law and order, and are willing to cooperate with the police.
The minister also spoke about the process by which the location was acquired from the Guyana Post Office Corporation (GPOC) through collaborative efforts and negotiations.
Acting Police Commissioner Leroy Brumell, in brief remarks, said the Agricola Police Outpost will serve its intended purpose, and the police will work closely with the community to reduce incidences of crimes and root out outsiders.
Adding that ranks would be on duty on a 24-hour basis, the Top Cop urged them to be alert and to assist residents once reports are made to the police outpost, since, over the years, the Guyana Police Force (GPF) has been improving police stations/outposts by way of rehabilitating buildings and improving training and information technology.
Brumell said the GPF has been trying to suppress crime, and what is also worrying to the Force are the regular incidents of road fatalities in which persons are bent on drinking and driving, which is one of the leading causes of road fatalities.
As such, the Top Cop encouraged all road users to use the roads with care in order to reduce the growing number of fatalities on the roadways.
‘A’ Division Commander George Vyphius also spoke briefly at the opening ceremony, telling the gathering that the Agricola Police Outpost is there to push community projects to make the village crime-free. He said the youths would be gainfully occupied in the GPF Scouts Group, and thanked the community leaders for their efforts in urging the youngsters to join the Police Scouts Group.
Assistant Commissioner Vyphuis added that several members of the GPF Scouts Group have since received their drivers’ licences after they had been sponsored by the Force; in that their packages had been paid for, and they were also trained by the police.
Vyphius said he never considered Agricola to be a bad place, and with the police outpost there, the residents would have enhanced their own security. He said the outpost, as a project, took several years to come to fruition, but it was realized; and credit must be given to the ranks  who were tasked with the project, as well as to Minister Rohee, who also supported the project.