‘A’ DIVISION Police on Wednesday re-commissioned a Special Intelligence Office at the Brickdam Police Station with intention to monitor the crime situation within the division and receive intelligence information from members of the public.At the ribbon-cutting exercise on Wednesday, A Division Commander, Assistant Police Commissioner Clifton Hicken, told the Guyana Chronicle the department would assist to bring information more quickly into ‘A’ Division; and process and disseminate same to the relevant departments of the Force — such as the Operations Rooms etc.

In essence, this office would act as a nerve centre in that it would store photographs and information on all persons of interest to the police within the division, thereby keeping records on all persons who are under the radar of the police.

Hicken was quick to point out that the functions of this office would neither usurp nor overshadow the functions of the Criminal Investigation Department at Eve Leary, but would be a complementary factor to the CID.

Senior Superintendent Reshi Dass, in commenting on the functioning of this office, related that the division had an office that discharged those functions in the past, but, for some reason, it was not functioning.

Dass said that in addition to the 911 number and the numbers for the divisional commander and operations room, persons who have information they would like to share with the police can do so by dialling 225-3052, another number that would be accessible to the public on a 24-hour basis.

This new office comes directly under the supervision of the ‘A’ Division Detective, and is located within that department. It has an officer-in-charge as well as five support ranks.

Dass said the need to re-establish this office is urgent, given the many serious crimes which have been popping up within the division over the past month.

He is of the view that those shootings and other crimes are not isolated incidents, but may be part of a bigger linkage and/or connection; hence the police are leaving no stone unturned in uncovering the truth behind these incidents, especially in ‘A’ Division, and with support from the Crime Chief and his deputy.

When this publication visited the office on Wednesday, there were already on the wall photographs of persons who are of interest to the police. The office also has its own log book, which would be used as a reference in respect to all activities in which the office engages.

By Leroy Smith