Prank callers to be prosecuted
Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan flanked by senior officers of the Guyana Police Force during a tour of the long-awaited 911 emergency system (Rabindra Rooplall photo)
Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan flanked by senior officers of the Guyana Police Force during a tour of the long-awaited 911 emergency system (Rabindra Rooplall photo)

PUBLIC Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan commissioned the new 911 emergency system at Brickdam Police Station on Friday and warned that prank callers will be prosecuted for wasting the police’s time.
He said the system will have features that can allow location-tracking, SMS messaging and customised reporting.
“It is fine we have a nice 911, so we call up and when we call up the police station and they re-route back the call to Crabwood Creek or to Skeldon Police Station, they have cars or jeeps that will respond to the call,” he noted.
To back up the reports that the police receive, Ramjattan said that the Chinese Government donated 30 containers of assets to be utilised by the Guyana Police Force.

These include fleets of new vehicles, computers and ATVs that will aid the police in their response to the 911 calls.

The minister highlighted that the vehicles include over 56 pickups, 20 buses and 25 All-Terrain Vehicles (ATVs) among a number of other vehicles and equipment.

“So, do not feel… because we will get a nice 911, we are then going to be stifled because we do not have the resources to back it up. Yes, we are going to get the resources because we will be deploying those and I have gotten from the assistant commissioner where and where they will be deployed,” Minister Ramjattan informed the gathering.

The call system is outfitted with a number of special features, including selective call transfers and automatic caller identification and the option to send a text message in case of the inability to make a call.

Other features include customised reporting which can expand to incorporate graphical geographic information system and integration with closed-circuit television cameras.

The minister expects the response time in and around Georgetown to be tremendously improved as the Christmas season approaches. He thanked GTT and DIGICEL for their support and collaboration on the project.

Acting Commissioner of Police David Ramnarine was happy that the emergency calling system was fixed and noted that the force had struggled and had tough times in the past trying to fix it.

Adding that the new system has features that will allow for the re-routing of calls to police stations across the country, Ramnarine urged ranks trained to monitor the system to have the right attitude as the highest courtesy and quality of service are expected as the 911 emergency systems serve the population.

“Our attitudinal behaviour towards our work, towards colleagues, towards the members of the public, there is a huge gap and so I can only urge those of you who will be engaged in ensuring that the 911 emergency system… will be something meaningful, something useful, not something mirroring the challenges of the past, it must never be so,” the acting commissioner underscored.

He noted that the establishment of the 911 system constitutes part of the Guyana Police Force’s reform.

The commissioning of the Chinese-donated vehicles is slated for Monday, November 6, 2017, by President David Granger.

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