DESPITE rising concerns about the spate of criminal activities here, President David Granger believes that the situation is being exaggerated and Guyanese will have a “safe and comfortable Christmas.”Speaking during an interview with Gordon Moseley on 94.1 radio station on Friday morning, the Head of State who was at the time attending the 22nd Session of the Conference of Parties (COP22) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) in Morocco, said, “The situation is not as bad as it is being made out to be.”
He explained that there has been a decline in piracy attacks as reported by the Police Force and noted the efforts by his administration to ensure that there are more patrols around the country.
The President pointed to mounted patrols in Black Bush Polder and in the Rupununi with the hope of reducing violent crimes.
He spoke to the increase in policemen on the ground, a move which began on November 15 and will run until January 15. During the Christmas season, more ranks of the Guyana Police Force are placed on the streets, given the hive of activities that take place.
“We have taken more decisive action to look at the prison situation, as you know there have been recurring threats of disorder and lawlessness in the prisons, and in fact, the Defence [Force] and Police in joint operation to support the prison authorities removed illegal weapons and cell phones [from the prison]” the President reminded.
Last weekend, the Joint Services raided the Georgetown and New Amsterdam prisons following what was described by the Government as a “potential domestic security threat” and seized a large quantity of contraband items.
At the Georgetown Prison, 21 improvised weapons and knives, 20 razor blades, 558 grams of marijuana, 22 cellular phones and five gallons of homemade wine, along with a number of other banned items were found. A lesser number of items were found at the New Amsterdam prison.
The discovery of the contraband at the Georgetown Prison proved worrisome for the security forces as that prison was last searched in September.
“The Government will continue to work closely with the Guyana Prison Service and the Joint Services to address on-going security weaknesses at the nation’s correctional facilities,” a statement from the Ministry of the Presidency said on last Saturday.
Additionally, Government said the Guyana Police Force and the Joint Services where necessary will continue to “scale up security activities in targeted areas to ensure the security of residents and visitors across Guyana as the country enters the holiday season and in light of the uptick in criminal activity”.
Meanwhile, President Granger said issues of arson are being dealt with as Government has strengthened the fire service by acquiring much needed equipment, including ambulances.
“So I think [with] those three main services… Police, Prison and Fire, I think we are much better prepared and I think the Guyanese people can look forward to having a safe and comfortable Christmas,” President Granger assured.
The Guyana Police Force has reported that there has been a reduction in the percentage of serious crimes over the past few months. The police have recorded a 21 per cent decrease in serious crimes at the end of September when compared to the same period last year. In a statement, the police said there was a 9 per cent reduction in reports of murder; a 5 per cent decrease in gun-related robberies; a 17 per cent decrease in armed robberies in which other instruments were used; a 15 per cent decrease in robberies where no instruments were used; a 25 per cent decrease in robberies with violence; a 4 per cent decrease in robberies with aggravation; a 33 per cent decrease in larceny from the person; a 19 per cent decrease in rapes; a 13 per cent decrease in burglaries; and a 21 per cent decrease in break and enter and larceny.