THE Government of Guyana, with support from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), has undertaken the reform and transformation of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) from an incident-driven, reactive institution to one that relies on analysis of patterns, incidents and problems.

A major initiative of this reform is the design, development and implementation of an Integrated Crime Information System (ICIS). This is with a view to supporting the Ministry of Public Security (MoPS) and the Guyana Police Force (GPF) in creating an enabling environment, wherein comprehensive, up-to-date, crime-related information is readily available and shared through the use of modern technology.

Minister of Public Security, the Hon Khemraj Ramjattan, spoke at a community meeting at Kuru- Kururu on Monday. Ramjattan said that government will be better able with increased, oil-derived revenue, to finance community- based programmes and projects such as the Citizens Security Strengthening Programme (CSSP) in that community.

The community of Kuru- Kururu was not earmarked for the Citizens Security Strengthening Programme (CSSP), simply because it has not been seen as a high-risk, crime-infested area.

These concerns were raised by the residents of Kuru-Kururu in light of the need to address the unemployment rate in the community and what may be an upsurge of criminal activities in Kuru-Kururu and surrounding areas.

Residents are of the view that with the implementation of such a programme, the issue of developing entrepreneurial skills for young people will be addressed in a practical approach for a beneficial outcome.

Meanwhile, residents addressed other areas of concern with the minister and team; these included land and land-titling issues, the need for a police station in the area and a secondary school in Kuru-Kururu.