ASSISTANT Commissioner of Police Balram Persaud told the Chronicle yesterday that the Guyana Police Force (GPF) should have all systems in place by this weekend as they prepare to fall in line ahead of President Donald Ramotar’s announcement of the date for holding the 2015 General and Regional Elections.

He said the GPF administration has been at an all-time-high level of preparedness for the tasks it would have to undertake in the period leading up to, during, and after those elections.

“No amount of preparation can be complete; and we have to work with the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) in this regard,” the Assistant Commissioner said. He said that training has been ongoing within the GPF, not only for those elections, but for every other high-profile activity; and the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) Unit of the GPF is fully geared to deal with any eventuality even as its members continue their training regimen.

Asked about accommodation for police ranks who are often required to remain ‘in-lying’ during an election, Persaud explained that most of the facilities are already in place. He, however, pointed out that the police station in Berbice has not been fully completed, but the GPF has other options available to take care of the ranks during the period of in-lying, and he does not see the issue of accommodation for ranks being a problem.

On the subject of financing and the budget for accommodating ranks and pulling off other police activities during elections, Persaud explained that the Force’s elections budget has been prepared since last year. He added that there may be some cases wherein items would have to be added and prices adjusted, given that prices fluctuate from time to time.

Asked about the exact figure for the police election budget, Persaud said the Force has not yet finalized that figure, but all of those things are expected to be ironed out by this weekend.

Among expenses the Force is likely to incur during an election period are the following: feeding of ranks, the use of additional fuel, rental of vehicles, and paying ranks for conducting certain exercises. The Police would usually rent vehicles at times when they are unable to access a particular area because of the absence of a vehicle, or in some cases boats.

The Guyana Police Force is expected to utilize its full strength and manpower during the election period. This includes activating ranks at all levels — regular, community policing members, and rural constables.

In the area of riot control, Police Commissioner Seelall Persaud had, in late December last year, said that the training of the SWAT Team was in keeping with SOPs that the Force is comfortable with, and that despite the many criticisms expressed, the Force administration had no immediate plans to alter the training and/or SOPs regarding deployment of the SWAT Team.