By Dillon Goring

THE Georgetown City Constabulary will be celebrating its 182nd anniversary during the period July 14 to 19, 2019.

A number of activities have been planned in observance of this auspicious occasion.
This year’s anniversary commences with a Church Service at the Carmel Seventh Day Adventist Church on South Road in Georgetown, on Sunday July 14.

The celebrations will also include a games and interactive sessions, and distribution of hampers to the Convalescent Home.
This year’s celebrations focus on the theme “Don’t lose your focus, stay strong through the storm”.
However, Chief Constable of the City Constabulary, Andrew Foo, in an exclusive interview with this publication, made the point that the City Constabulary being the oldest policing body in Guyana, faces major financial challenges in executing its mandate in the city.
The Chief Constable added that “What we are required to do as a body ,is to enforce the by- laws, the Government ‘s by laws and when we talk about by-laws we are talking primarily about minor offences, obstruction of streets and parapets , we are talking in terms of littering and few other offences .”

The Chief Constable noted that the constabulary has a responsibility in terms of assets and buildings of the council.

The Constabulary, he noted has about twenty four locations that the council is required to protect and secure, inclusive of the markets in the city.
The constabulary has a responsibility of policing the city, but according to Foo, because of inadequate staffing at the Constabulary, the Constabulary is unable to spread out across the city, which is fifteen square miles.

This inadequate staffing has led to the Constabulary providing security around the markets and the main shopping areas only.

The Chief Constable made it clear that many persons aren’t aware that leaving building materials on the parapet constitutes an offence.
The Chief Constable outlined that the purpose of the bicycle unit of the Constabulary is primarily to do Community policing.

There is also a crime unit that works in collaboration with the Guyana Police Force; hence there are ranks that are imbedded to provide security to the city.

The Constabulary has begun to address the issue of traffic congestion in the city; also persons who have derelict vehicles parked in the city must know that it is an offence under the City by-laws. Such persons are given 48 hours to comply with the law or face prosecution.

While security in the City, particularly in the markets, is critical, the Constabulary seems incapable of addressing the issue because of under-staffing.