THIRTY more Region Six police ranks will soon be better equipped to handle cases involving gender-based violence.

They are presently participating in a three-day COPSQUAD training programme under the Spotlight Initiative in partnership with the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security and the Ministry of Home Affairs.

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) is funding the training which is being held at the Police Academy at Adventure, East Berbice-Corentyne.

According to Regional Commander Shivpersaud Bacchus, the officers will be exposed to both theoretical and interactive training which will assist them to be on par with their international counterparts when dealing with domestic and gender-based violence cases, especially those involving women and girls.

Having observed and being privy to the training being delivered, Bacchus is hoping that the programme continues so that all the ranks under his charge can receive the training which will help to raise the standard of service provided to residents.

“With the COPSQUAD training programme, we saw over 2,000 persons trained so far nationally, while in Region Six, 62 persons were trained so far and this batch of 30 will now take the total to 92 ranks of the total of 332 ranks. We have a lot more work to do as it relates to gender-based violence and we are hoping the team can continue to be here so that all the ranks within Region Six will be trained so that we can have a stronger posture in terms of how to deal with gender based violence in division number six,” he added.

Meanwhile in an invited comment, one of the facilitators, Training Consultant Dr. Wanda Chesney, noted the significant increase in the number of cases of domestic violence.

She said that for this reason, it is imperative that key stakeholders that interface with the public, especially the victims and survivors, are properly empowered to do so with tact and professionalism.

“Right now as we see it, one in every two women within our society would have been exposed to some form of violence either as a child or an adult…. It really requires we tackle it, we confront it and we deal with it in a way where persons are aware and where our officers are knowledgeable and empowered to treat with these cases expeditiously,” Chesney said.

Speaking specifically about the training, she noted that it is all about educating and training the police officers so that they are able to treat the survivors of violence better.

The training seeks to provide more insight into the Domestic Violence Act and provide a hands-on approach with different scenarios so that the officers can be able to assess and know what the best course of action for the victims is.

“It’s about giving better service to the public and making the officers more aware of their roles and responsibilities because as you know, there is zero tolerance for domestic violence and gender-based violence generally.”

Further, she noted that persons visiting the force and interacting with the trained officers will notice the difference from prior visits.

“With training provided, officers are going to be more service-oriented. So apart from enhancing their knowledge base, their rapport will be different. It will be better and therefore persons will have a better quality service and a better experience after having visited the force or the station,” she added.