PRESIDENT Donald Ramotar yesterday at the opening ceremony of the three-day Annual Police Officers’ Conference, called on the Guyana Police Force to  lift their level of work to counter crime, as he plugged the need for continuous training to meet the need for skilled ranks.

He also urged the GPF to look at cyber crimes because “we are inter-connected globally in our society and we will not be able to escape these things and it is important that we start to look at that”.
President Ramotar said: “We have to improve and expand traditional police work and to modernise it as the theme says and we have to look at more training continuously. The GPF will have to be able to use more complicated tools and therefore use science and technology more in crime fighting. That calls for us to improve on the education level and skills in the GPF”.
The President also noted that the government has recognised that and they are putting resources into training programmes, in sending officers overseas to look at ‘best practices’. He suggested that the GPF, like the regional police, should link-in more to universities and look at courses that would have relevance to the GPF in the field of science, management and other areas.

Scientific evidence
President Ramotar said further, “We are also trying to enhance the ability of the Force to increase their percentage of convictions by having stronger evidence using scientific evidence to go to court.
“That is why we are spending a sizable amount of money in building a Forensic Laboratory which we hope will help because so many crimes are left unsolved”. He also acknowledged the need for families of victims to have closure, recalling the Sheema Mangar case.
He added that one of the plans is to make the GPF more efficient and the Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA) has recognised the need to carry out reforms and the leadership of the Force has given its commitment.
The President also encouraged the police to be more prompt in dealing with the reports of citizens and he challenged them to root out the ‘drug houses’ and employ initiatives to foster better relations with the community.

Integrity testing
Meanwhile, he noted that a lot of the very good work which the police do is sometimes overshadowed when the police on the road harass citizens. In that light, it would be necessary to think about integrity testing not only for those in the narcotics unit but in other areas as well.
President Ramotar said, “This is one of the things we should think about in expanding integrity testing, being expensive, it still must be done to   give us dividends in increasing the confidence in our security services”.
He also referred to the increased mining in the hinterland and the economic activities taking place. He noted the focus of the police to intensify efforts to fight crime and to come up with a strong strategy in working with miners to develop intelligence and information sharing among the security forces since  within two or three years there has been a marked increase in crimes in the interior.

Working with the media
He stated that the GPF in working on its image must also work with the media, being aware that the media “can be very cruel, unkind and very unfair sometimes but still it is a very important tool in society to avoid negative speculation”. In that light, the President urged that they develop a healthy relationship with the media in a way that they can fight crime.
The President also spoke out against using crime in the nation’s political activities, as he noted that statistics can be generated in the crimes of opportunity that occurred during the Agricola protest last year when roads were blocked, people were attacked and robbed and many were stranded.
He therefore urged that there must be unity to create better security because “we cannot allow criminals to feel protected by one side or the other since people in Guyana must feel safe”. In the meantime, he urged the GPF to remain professional and to work to make a contribution towards improved security.
Also speaking was acting Commissioner of Police, Leroy Brumell, who noted the theme: Advancing institutional modernisation to secure our communities through enhanced professionalism, partnership, strategic management and effective leadership” in order “to see where we are and to know where we ought to be”.
He pointed out that over the next three days they will be analyzing and reviewing their operations, policies, and administrative plans for the future in keeping with their mandate under the Police Act.
The Top Cop, citing statistics, said that last year they had an overall decrease of one percent in serious crimes, compared to 2011 and in terms of murders, they recorded 137 in 2012 compared to 130 in 2011 with an increase of five percent.
Brumell disclosed that of the 137 murders last year, 62 were of the disorderly type; 11 were committed during armed robberies; 24 were domestic-related; nine were the execution type, and 31 were undetermined.

Armed robberies
He stated that robbery under arms saw an increase of one percent compared to 2011 with an increase of 16 percent in armed robberies involving the use of firearms and there was also a 30 percent increase in armed robberies in which other instruments were used.
The acting Commissioner of Police said that they have had a decrease in larceny from the person by 20 percent and burglary by 18 percent; and break and enter and larceny by 10 percent.
He stated, however, that they have been working assiduously to fight crime through robust patrols; road block patrols, raids and searches and an intelligence network bolstered by the divisional intelligence crime unit and computerised integrated information system established under the Citizen Security Programme (CSP).
Brumell explained that up to March 4 this year there was an overall one percent decrease in serious crimes in comparison with the same period in 2012, and there had been a decrease by six percent in armed robberies. However, murders have shown an increase of 17 percent when compared to the same period last year with 22 murders in 2013 while 18 were recorded last year.

Dismantling criminal gangs
Brumell disclosed that within recent years the police have been able to dismantle several criminal gangs and while some gangs have been identified, they continue to work through intelligence-led policing to interdict those criminal elements involved in armed robberies, especially in cases where illegal firearms were brought into the country through the expansive borders which pose some difficulty to law enforcement.

Community Policing
The Top Cop yesterday also recognised the invaluable efforts of Community Policing Groups (CPGs) countrywide for their partnership with the police in the crime fight through voluntary work and he expressed the hope for strengthened cooperation.
Brumell also disclosed that firearms seized this year amounted to 111 – 28 were pistols, 39 revolvers, 31 shotguns, and 13 rifles.
He noted that the GPF has recognised that gold mining is one of the country’s economic pillars and a major contributor to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Therefore, significant efforts are being made in the policing of the “E&F’ Divisions where these activities are centred.
Brumell stated that last year a decision was taken to de-link the ‘E&F’ Divisions – ‘E’ Division comprises  Linden, Kwakwani, Ituni, Aroaima and Mabura, while ‘F’ Division consists of all interior locations manned by two senior officers. The divisions have been merged since 1992.  However, the dynamics have since changed with prevailing developmental and economic activities as well as the growing population.
He highlighted concern over the fact that in the hinterland during last year 24 of 62 disorderly murders occurred in the then ‘E&F’ Division, and so far this year four of nine murders were committed in ‘F’ Division and there have been several armed robberies on miners.
The acting Commissioner of Police yesterday also outlined the challenges the Force encountered last year, citing the situation in Linden in which three persons lost their lives; the fatal shooting of Shaquille Grant in Agricola in which three policemen have been charged and are before the courts. He also noted the Agricola protest in which the carriageways were blocked, commuters were stranded and persons were attacked and robbed, as well as the fatal shooting of Damien Belgrave by the police, following which two ranks were charged and are now before the courts.
He also spoke of the attitude of some members of the Force as unbecoming and the deviant behaviour of some ranks which includes corruption, and the negative impact of this on the GPF.
Brumell said, “The GPF has a lot of dedicated men and women, who are genuine while there are some who express deviant behaviour but once found, they are dealt with condignly”.
The Top Cop concluded that generally in 2012 the GPF did well and noting the issues they need to focus on this year, he declared that there is much work to be done but they will continue to work in order that citizens feel safe to build the country.
He acknowledged that with the GPF being the premier law enforcement agency, the task ahead is not an easy one but they have maintained 174 years of service to the country and in view of all the initiatives outlined, they expect that they will be able to hold their heads high.