President unveils 15 point plan for improved Police Force

President unveils 15 point plan for improved Police Force

President Donald Ramotar on Thursday rolled out a 15 point plan for 2015 which he has dubbed the “15/2015 plan” and says he expects the Guyana Police Force (GPF) to work on its  implementation as it seeks to restore high levels of public trust and increase its aggressiveness in fighting criminal elements and curbing criminality.

The Head of State who was at the time delivering an address to the Annual Police Officers Conference says his vision is not just to create a police force that will meet the needs of citizens but one that will set standards that other forces from across the regional can copy.

“It is time to stop wishing that our country was like others and create a country others can emulate,” he added. He said resources and leadership don’t matter if there is nowhere to channel those resources and no one to lead. In this regard he proposed his 15 point program even as he heads to regional and general elections on May 11.

Included in the 15 point program is encouragement for the establishment of a neighborhood watch program to increase surveillance by residents and community members. Ramotar has also proposed the introduction of a problem oriented
approach to addressing crime where police will take a proactive role in identifying and responding to problems and not just incidents.

He is hopeful that there will be increased patrols in the country’s streets and neighborhoods and called on the force to seriously addressed it’s widely complained about 911 system and turn it into a“real” rapid response system.
On this note the President acknowledged the many complains of unanswered calls to 911 and says Guyana has the worse response time in the Caribbean.

“Ensure police officers work closely with our schools to reduce school violence or drug abuse and the influence of criminals in our schools,”he said; adding that “if a person is caught with drugs or weapons near a school they must be dealt with condignly.”

The Head of State said the police must place more emphasis of reopening cold cases and unresolved crimes, increase intelligence capabilities and establishing a targeting police program to boast confidence in critical sectors. He is hopeful that once implement, his proposal will turn the mistrust which citizens share into confidence noting that the perception that the force is untrustworthy to some extend is unacceptable and should be corrected forthwith.

“This program is the nest step in the journey to bring greater security and safety to Guyana and I am committed to seeing it becomes a reality.” He urged officers to use the deliberations during the conference to discuss his proposal and move swiftly into implementation.

Filed: 13th March, 2015

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