The increasing use of technology and more innovative methods by criminals

to carry out their nefarious activities, particularly those related to the illegal drug trade, necessitates an increasingly modern crime- fighting approach. This is not an option but an imperative.
According to a BBC News report, Bill Hughes, head of the UK’s National Crime Squad, many modern criminals may use computers to carry out crimes, but they still have a lot in common with East End gangsters such as the Krays.
But, he said, what must change is the way that police forces, governments and companies work together to catch criminals who turn to computers to carry out crimes.
Now every police force in England and Wales has a dedicated hi-tech crime team that specialises in tackling e-crime and that help other police officers gather electronic evidence to back up other investigations.
The E-Crime Congress, organised around the theme of ‘Designing Out Hi-Tech Crime’, was intended to deepen dialogue and co-operation between those hit by crimes and those investigating them.
Today,in many law-enforcement agencies, particularly in the developed world, the use of CCTV cameras, computers, DNA data bases and E-Reporting have become common tools in combating crime.
Unfortunately, many law-enforcement agencies in developing countries like ours, because of financial and human resources constraints cannot keep apace and utilise the latest technology in their crime fight. Consequently, in many of these societies there is an escalating crime rate, especially in the realm of the illegal drug trade and money laundering.
The call by developing countries for greater assistance in the modernisation of law enforcement by developing countries has largely fallen on deaf ears.
In relation to our country, the government through the Ministry of Home Affairs and other related agencies has been making persistent efforts to reform and modernise our law-enforcement agencies. These include the establishment of an intelligence-gathering unit, the installation CCTV cameras, the construction of a forensic laboratory, a plan to establish a GPF Air Wing and regular training courses, both local and overseas ones.
And more recently, in an effort at instituting sweeping reforms of the Guyana Police Force (GPF), the Ministry of Home Affairs has employed a high-level team of 10 civilian professionals to form a Strategic Management Department (SMD) which is tasked with overseeing the implementation of the Force’s strategic plan.
This team of civilian professionals will work alongside members of the GPF in addressing the key strategic priorities laid out in the Force’s strategic plan. According to a statement from the newly formed SMD, the 10 civilian professionals forming the Strategic Management Department are from a variety of academic disciplines, and were carefully selected by an esteemed panel of individuals from within the private and public sectors.
The head of the SMD, Patrick Mentore, has given the assurance that: “The Guyana Police Force is positioning itself to become a modern police institution in Guyana. With its strategic plan in place and the establishment of this new strategic management department, along with the resolute commitment of the senior management of the Force, I am very confident that together we can transform the Force into a modern police entity.”
Mentore also stated that “this strategic management team is especially convinced that all strategic objectives and goals will be achieved with efficiency and effectiveness.”
This is certainly a progressive and timely move but one cannot expect to see overnight, miraculous changes as these interventions take some time to fructify, and this was pertinently pointed out by Mentore
Citizens, he said, must be patient and give the strategic management team time and space to do its work. “We have a herculean task ahead of us. Changing an ingrained organisational culture that has been in place for decades will not happen overnight. But we stand ready and committed to be the drivers of change this Force needs,”