– Limited resources to confine officers to main shopping areas

CHIEF Constable, Andrew Foo has said that a policing plan needs to be in place to deal with the security issues arising as a result of increased shopping during the upcoming Christmas season. However, he reported last Friday that such a plan has not yet been completed.
Speaking with members of the media at a City Hall press briefing, Foo mentioned yet another difficulty being experienced by the city constabulary, which is that of having to work with limited resources.

Earlier this year, Foo had reported that the constabulary is short of approximately 140 staff members and that efforts to recruit more workers were not bearing much fruit.
While the constabulary is expected to provide security throughout Georgetown, Foo said the lack of resources will mean that the officers will have to confine themselves to the main shopping areas for Christmas, being Bourda and Stabroek Markets.

“We have a mandate to ensure that we establish a presence in the city. It is necessary that we have a policing plan to cover the entire City, but we are not able to do so. So we will ensure we confine ourselves to the commercial areas, Stabroek and Bourda. All of our resources are going to be deployed to the Stabroek and Bourda areas. Those are the areas that are heavy in terms of commercial activities, and therefore, it is necessary that we have a policing presence there,” Foo said.

Apart from uniformed officers, Foo said officers will also be at those locations in plain clothes. The aim, he said, is to offer protection not just to the stallholders, but to shoppers as well.

Meanwhile, the City Constabulary Department has responsibility for the prevention and detection of crime in Georgetown and has similar powers and privileges of the Guyana Police Force (GPF).

It also has the authority to prosecute persons for offences such as assault, disorderly behaviour, urinating in public places, using indecent language, encumbering the pavements and so forth.

The department also provides security for municipal markets, day-care centres, koker pumps and City Hall buildings, among others. Providing security alone takes up much of the department’s resources, Foo had once told the Guyana Chronicle.
The Enforcement Unit, which deals with itinerant vending and other breaches of the law, is also very small and short of its full number of staff.