SUPERVISION of Guyana’s borders has improved over the past year because of the added support from Community Policing Groups (CPGs) which were established in the riverine communities.

“The Ministry of Public Security has been giving tremendous support to these various groups in the form of assets- ATVs, vehicles, the uniform and all the other paraphernalia that are required,” said Minister of Public Security, Khemraj Ramjattan, during the launch of activities for the 43rd Anniversary of CPGs at the ministry yesterday (Friday, March 8, 2019).

The ministry had placed the focus on policing groups at the border, following a call from President David Granger to improve protection at the borders.
“The move is in keeping with the call by President Granger for more surveillance at the borders, particularly after the influx of migrants from bordering countries,” said Minister Ramjattan.

Since the increase in patrols, there have been notable successes. This, the minister said, is mainly due to information sharing between the CPGs and the Guyana Police Force.
According to the minister, there are 62 CPGs in Region Seven, 15 in Region Nine and 189 in Region One. “More person should get on board and help us to create a safer Guyana…it is the duty of every citizen to help create safe communities,” said Minister Ramjattan.
There has been an increase in CPG patrols over the past year. According to statistics, there were 9000 patrols last year compared to 5000 in 2017

It was reported that National Administrator of Community Policing, Mr. Dennis Pompey said young people are important stakeholders in this process as their involvement in community activities and service reinforces a sense of ownership of, and responsibility to, their communities.

“We have seen lawyers, doctors, teachers and pastors who are coming into CPG and who are giving back to the community, not only their man-hours, in terms of patrolling, but trying to educate those persons who are within the CPG, so they could perform at a higher level,” he said. Mr. Pompey also noted that CPGs comprise mostly of young people. In fact, 30 percent of the members of the CPGs are in the age range 24-34 years.

The education effort of members is also bolstered by training programmes covering topics like domestic violence, conflict resolution, trafficking in persons, social cohesion, and basic principles in mediation. The CPGs are provided with land and water transportation by the Government, after which the group is tasked with the maintenance of the equipment.
There are 210 community policing groups comprising 4,255 members across the country.

That number rivals the total population of the GPF, which stands currently at 4,639 officers. Citizens, therefore, are the driving forces in the safety and stability of their communities.