DIVISIONAL Commander, Senior Superintendent of Police, Stephen Mansell is of the opinion that one of the best ways of controlling crime is to establish solid trust with the public.

“We need to establish a good relationship with our communities. At the same time, we need to make sure that school-leavers are employed; we need to keep them occupied meaningfully,” the commander said.

And this is primarily why police in ‘G’ Division, which is his jurisdiction, will be partnering with both the public and private sectors on June 17 to launch the Essequibo Coast’s first ever Career Day Fair.

As the Commander has promised, this Career Day Fair will be a mind-blowing experience for youths of the Cinderella County. “We are asking various sectors to open a booth to display their goods and services; we expect businesses to advertise their job vacancies along with criteria for employment,” he said, adding:

“We are targeting unemployment here, they may be persons out there who don’t know where there’s an existing vacancy, and this fair could mean hope for them.”

Reiterating that the partnership between the police force and the public sector would also serve as a deterrent to crime, Commander Mansell observed:

“Less jobs automatically means more crime, so, from Monday, we would have banners advertising the career day. Also, we would be visiting schools directly to interact with youths; liaising as it were with the Department of Education.”

But the upcoming Fair is but one of the many ways that ‘G’ Division has been partnering with the public and private  sectors, as another is a proposed multi-purpose training centre at Affiance, which is currently under constrction and expected to include a section for the teaching of Information Technology.

As the Commander has observed, the Force has for some time now been engaging some 200 youths in four different communities.

“We can say that the tree we planted has taken root and is bearing fruit,” Commander Mansell said.

“The youths in Dartmouth are benefitting well from the training they receive on Sundays, especially in IT.

“We are hoping to bring Charity on board very soon, since there’s a hub there as well.”