–vehicles will help monitor city wards

THE City Constabulary will now boast a fleet of five vehicles, which include two new pick-ups to conduct patrols within the confines of the city.
The cost of the vehicles is under $13M; one was donated by the Ministry of Communities and the other was bought by the municipality, according to Public Relations Officer of the Mayor and City Council (M&CC), Debra Lewis.

Chief Constable at the M&CC, Andrew Foo, said the vehicles would be a tremendous aid to the Constabulary in its monitoring duties. He said the nature of the Constabulary has to do with policing of 15.2 square miles of Georgetown — from Cummings Lodge, East Coast Demerara to Agricola, East Bank Demerara, and the monitoring of the 52 wards therein. He added that policing is done by foot patrols, vehicular patrols and cycle patrols.

Foo said the constable’s duty is to enforce the city bylaws under the Municipal and District Councils Act, and any breaches of those laws would attract a warning or prosecution, depending on the nature of the offence. The laws governing municipal councils provide a relatively strong legal base for municipalities to function in an efficient manner, he said.

“The ranks out there inform persons if they are committing a breach of the by-laws, and a request will be made to correct the matter or, in cases, remove an encumbrance such as sand, stone etc. Failing to comply can result in an arrest or prosecution by way of summons,” the Chief Constable noted.

He said constables would be monitoring and visiting various wards by way of cycles and vehicles. The current strength of the Constabulary is 202, and the aim is to complement this by striving for 345 ranks by the end of the year. He said this will be done through community outreaches and also through paid advertisements in the print and electronic media.

In addition, Foo explained that the City Police are on par with the other military agencies where the powers of arrest and prosecution of various offences are concerned. Further, he said a number of firearms have been acquired by the Constabulary, and those would allow ranks within the city confines to respond to situations and robberies.

“Very soon, we also intend to change the colour of the uniform to a lighter one, because of the climate,” Foo disclosed.