By Rabindra Rooplall

THE Guyana Police Force (GPF) has seen a 26 percent reduction in serious crimes, and preparations for Guyana’s Golden Jubilee celebrations are on track, according to Commander of ‘A’ Division, Clifton Hicken.In an interview with the Guyana Chronicle, the commander pointed to a few recent activities that were incident-free, noting that the GPF will just be making adjustments as time goes by.

According to Commander Hicken, the reduction in serious crimes is an indication that preparations for the 50th Independence Anniversary celebrations are coming along well and Guyana will be fully ready on May 26.

The GPF will continue to work along with members of the public in solving and preventing crime, Hicken said. He disclosed that over the past few months, citizens have been providing useful information, which has led to a number of crimes being solved.

And since commencement of the Jubilee celebrations and the flag-raising at Jubilee Park, the commander said, these events have been incident-free; so the security protocol is being followed stage by stage, as was executed for the recent GuyExpo.

“Prior to the event, we had a security walk through the ground, and we look at the security posture that we need to raise, and the traffic flow… In fact, our security arrangement was one that covered the perimeter and patrols on the outskirts, and members of the public acknowledged our presence and even interacted with us,” the Assistant Commissioner said.

He explained that the GPF jelled well with the public, which is commendable in light of the large events coming up from May 19-22, which will be kept at various venues, including the National Stadium.

“We will concentrate our forces within the periphery, and our planning will be done in three phases, mainly leading to the event, the event, and the aftermath. We will be three hours in advance leading up to the event, and the route will be cleared for them to move to the location, as police will do the final touches that are needed,” he explained.

After these events, police will be visible to ensure that there are no robberies, Commander Hicken said, and all senior officers within ‘A’ Division will be in the fields to provide adequate leadership.

In addition, there will be supervisors for junior ranks, so the likelihood of misconduct will be eliminated.

“We are doing that to ensure that we don’t undo what we are fighting so much to do with the members of the public,” he noted.

The traffic advisory will soon be released, Commander Hicken said, and this will assist in preventing any inconvenience to members of the public.

In giving a sneak peak of the operations in the city, he said Hadfield Street will be closed, parking will be done for VVIP in close proximity to the VVIP Stage, and nearby there will also be parking for others. The security posture will ensure a problem-free event at the Jubilee Stadium.

He said the attitude and focus on security is winning the support of the public in ‘A’ Division. Anti-crime patrols will be out in the various housing areas, and these will be boosted by Community Policing Groups which will act as a relay system with the police to prevent unlawful activities.

He said the business community and other stakeholders were informed of the police operations pertaining to heightened security for the celebrations in and around Georgetown and its environs.

CYCLING TEAMS, FOOT PATROLS
The commander also noted that police cycling teams and foot patrols will be deployed where tourists and members of the diaspora will be visiting. Certain areas of the East Bank Demerara route will be patrolled by motor vehicles, cycle and foot patrol.

NOTHING TO FEAR
Commander Hicken noted that visitors entering the country have nothing to fear, since patrols will be operating in dual carriageways along the East Bank, to monitor any risk whatsoever of robberies.

“We are asking members of the public to continue to support us. We are always open to information-sharing because all our successes have not only come from police but from the overwhelming support of the public,” the commander emphasized.