Police seek informants to help tackle crime

AMONG the many strategies Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan and his team intend to activate to reduce violent crimes this year, is employing persons who would pass on vital information to the relevant authorities.Ramjattan told a press conference Thursday that a number of things are happening to boost security within the country and one of those would be the recruitment of informants. The minister was explaining a decision made during the recently concluded annual police conference, where a report will be presented to cover the security strategy for the entire year.
The security solutions within the report are expected to take certain areas and patterns into consideration. Ramjattan said that according to a map shown by his security team, it was recognised that more effective policing is needed for areas shown on the map, which highlights locations where crime is pretty high.
“We need to have a number of other approaches, one of which is to get the information from informers.” Confidential or criminal informants is the term used in law enforcement to describe someone providing useful information to security personnel in crime prevention.
Ramjattan said that the process must be restarted, but funds would be required to see this going ahead. Security personnel have recognised, in some cases, the existence of criminal gangs, criminal hideouts and other areas that seem to be breeding grounds for unsavoury personalities.
There have been calls for the increase of informants to help police track criminals and their activities. In recent times, the most successful use of informants came when collaborative efforts between civilians and the security forces brought about the end of wanted fugitives Rondell `Fineman’ Rawlins and Jermaine `Skinny’ Charles, who were killed in 2008 during a shootout with joint service forces. Rawlins had lead a gang who are currently on trial for several murders committed in Bartica, and prior to that, Lusignan, on the East Coast of Demerara.
More than $50m was offered for information pertaining to the men’s whereabouts. Following their death, former President, Bharrat Jagdeo, had said that the money would be split, with the informant getting one third of the cash and the remainder going to the police and army. Ramjattan has nonetheless predicted better security in 2017. “We are going to do a very better year, 2017 and even better in the following years upon the implementation of the British security sector reform, because that will address a number of the issues regarding personnel competencies and administrative arrangements within the security sector.”
Ramjattan said that a British expert is currently in Guyana and will spend one year working with the police force and his ministry to assess the security sector. He said instructions were given to the relevant personnel to provide all documentation and information to assist with the expert’s grand overview, “for what will be in the report to better the security sector.”

Overseas training will continue for security personnel, while the force will continue its upgrade of equipment. Ramjattan said assets for maritime and drones for the interior are all on the security sector’s 2017 “to do” list.

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