THE Guyana Police Force and by extension the Public Security Ministry is making significant progress in apprehending drivers who are bent on breaking the law through utilisation of the Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras.CCTV is a TV system in which signals are not publicly distributed but are monitored, primarily for surveillance and security purposes. It relies on strategic placement of cameras and observation of the camera’s input on monitors somewhere. According to the Vice-President and Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan, over 3,100 traffic offences have been recorded for the year with the use of the CCTV cameras.

“What is being done is largely sending video clips of the driver and his motor car violating to the driver and then charging,” the Security Minister explained.
These traffic offenders are not only facing the courts, but according to Minister Ramjattan, 99% of them are now pleading guilty after being caught red-handed. “They are pleading guilty because they just can’t get away from the fact it is them and they have breached the law.”
But despite making significant headway, the Security Minister said the statistics are still high, because the CCTV cameras have only been installed in some of the main streets in Georgetown as a short-term initiative. But in the long term, he said more cameras would be erected along the streets.
Minister Ramjattan was at the time speaking during the launch of Road Safety Month 2015 at the Arthur Chung Convention Centre on Wednesday.
Addressing the issue of Road Safety, the Security Minister said individuals must act responsibly when using the roadways as he alluded to the theme “Be wise, stay alive, stop speeding, don’t drink and drive.”
“To a large extent, the damage, the destruction that has been caused by road accidents, loss of limbs and life, loss of property, is as a result, of that deficiency in individual responsibility,” Minister Ramjattan told those present at the Convention Centre.
He said it is time to cure that “disease” by acting responsibly. “We must ensure that we be responsible. And I am happy to see so many school- children here, because that responsibility could be cultivated at a young age.”
The installation and operation of the CCTV cameras are one of the mechanisms put in place to discourage drivers from driving recklessly, thereby making the roads a safer place. It is expected that some 300 of these television monitors covering cameras would be installed across the capital city. Financing for the project is being sourced under the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Citizen Security Programme II, which aims at improving the operational efficiency of the Guyana Police Force, with regard to reducing the levels of crime, violence and insecurity.
Monies that are going to be disbursed for the command centre and other supportive measures, amount to some US$2.5 million. In addition to the establishment and management of the centre, funds will also go towards the CCTV feeds. “We are going to have many cameras all around the city streets and a command centre that would see what is happening,” Minister Ramjattan said.
According to Ramjattan, the centre will have many mounted television cameras that could be used to trace incidents and to link these with ambulances, fire service and police service responses. “On that screen you will actually know where a police car is and if there is a robbery, you will divert immediately the closest patrol vehicle to the scene of the crime and as well call 911 or the fire service,” the minister explained. Government has allocated $21 billion to strengthen and improve national security services. Of that amount, a sum of $11.9 billion will support the operations of the Guyana Police Force, the Guyana Prison Service, Guyana Fire Service and the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) while $9.1 billion has been budgeted for the Guyana Defence Force.

By Svetlana Marshall