DIVISIONAL Commander of Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara), Errol Watts, has said that crime in the region is down by 21 per cent.
This, he said, is due mainly to efforts by the police to strengthen its ties with the community policing groups in the region.
Watts made the comments on Tuesday evening, when he appeared on the radio and online show “The Police and You,” hosted by Deputy Director of Communications at the Guyana Police Force, Stan Gouveia. During the show, Watts was questioned about crime in the region, tint on vehicles, how allegations of misconduct against police officers are investigated, efforts to foster better relationships with the community, as well as a recent incident which is said to have occurred at the Vreed-En-Hoop Stelling.
Touching on the crime rate, Watts said: “The crime situation in Region Three is extremely quiet. We recently had one incident in Parfaite Harmonie, and that is one in the longest time. Before that, we’ve had no serious crimes in the region for the past two or three weeks and we are continuing to work harder to ensure we keep a pulse on what is happening in the region.”

Further, he said: “I could speak very comprehensively for Region Three. I can tell you there is no increase in crime in Region Three; matter of fact we have minus 21 per cent of crime in Region Three. We had a few cases of murder reported to us and we have solved 95 per cent of those murders.
“I can tell you most of those murders are domestic-related murders and I’m very pleased of the efforts of the officers under my command, and those few murders which have not been solved we are working on those files assiduously.” Watts noted that the region is well equipped with the necessary resources to deal with the crime situation in the region, and pointed to the possible establishment of a SWAT team in the region. “We have the SWAT team in our region and I am confident that they are well-trained and well-equipped to respond to any eventuality, and offer some confidence to members of the public,” Watts informed. In terms of community relations, Watts said that the police in the region have also been working assiduously in this area.

“Only recently, we conducted a crime-prevention seminar with the community policing groups, and on the 6th of this month we have another crime-prevention seminar with members of the force and communities. We will engage the public, and we are going to continuously engage the private sector. We have started to do brochures with crime-prevention tips to distribute in Region,” Watts said.
In highlighting ways in which citizens in the region can do their part to help contribute to a safer environment, he said that they should first desist from walking around carelessly with large sums of money, without appropriate security.
He also noted that residents need to be sensitised and informed about the bad effects of the indiscriminate use of alcohol, since a number of murders in the region stem from alcoholism.