– donated by Canadian NGO
THE Canada Fund for Local Initiatives (CFLI) has donated to the Guyana Police Force (GPF), through the Canadian High Commission, more than 200 fraudulent document detection kits, which were received yesterday at the GPF Officers’ Training Centre at Camp and Young Streets in Kingston, Georgetown following the end of a four-day training course with officials from the Immigration, Border Security and Registry departments of the Ministry of Home Affairs.

At the handing over ceremony for the kits Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee remarked that the training course was needed for members of the GPF to combat organised crime, since fraudulent documents are widely circulated; and now that the course has been completed, ranks should easily be able to detect fraudulent documents.

The minister said that organised crime is trans-national, and the course was geared towards capacity building of the GPF, strengthening ranks to engage in such analyses of fraudulent documents emanating from both local and foreign sources.

Minister Rohee said fraudulent documents are produced to aid trafficking in all forms, and come as transports, powers of attorneys, and other forms that look very much like the original documents; and it is up to members of the GPF to detect those documents.

He pointed to the many instances in which people enter Guyana with fraudulent documents, and said that ranks operating at ports of entry should now be able to recognise fraudulent documentation and detain and arrest such persons.

The minister also spoke to the issue of stolen identity, saying that the works of criminals have become sophisticated and law enforcers need to be ‘up to speed’ with criminal trends worldwide. As such, he said, the GPF engaged in this course to educate ranks as part of its modernisation programme.

Participants of the course benefited from both theoretical and practical empowerment to intercept criminals attempting to enter Guyana fraudulently, and disrupt generation of fraudulent documentation by persons or agencies in Guyana.

Canadian High Commissioner to Guyana, Dr. Nicole Giles, said fraudulent identity documents pose a threat to national borders and national security around the world, and Guyana is not exempted in this regard.

She said the fight against this scourge cannot be waged in isolation, and therefore Canada was particularly pleased to partner with Guyana in this regard.

Dr. Giles noted that the real value of the project lies not in the donation of the kits and the training, but in intercepting criminal activities and fraudulent document generation.

For over three decades, Canada has funded development assistance projects in developing countries through the CFLI. The CFLI provides support to small scale, short-term projects by working with local, national and international non-governmental organisations, among others.

The CFLI focuses on funding projects with long-term, sustainable goals that enhance the local community and are widely recognised as making significant contributions to genuine development and capacity-building around the world.

The Canadian High Commission is responsible for the CFLI in Guyana and Suriname.

Police Commissioner Leroy Brumell, and Force Training Officer, Senior Superintendent Paul Williams also made remarks at the ceremony.

Certificates were presented to the participants, after which the handing over ceremony for the kits took place among Minister Rohee, Dr. Giles and Police Commissioner Leroy Brumell.
Written By Michel Outridge