Faced with calls from the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce for the Police Force to step up its response to the growing crime problem in the country, and a recent travel warning from the US government about crime in Guyana, President Irfaan Ali today maintained that crime in the country is actually on the decline.
Speaking to reporters this morning at his office, the President indicated that the statistics from the Police have shown a decline in criminal activity and he is sticking to those statistics.
“Now, the statistics based on all the reports, show that crime is on the decline in Guyana. And there has been a tremendous decline in crime. The problem with the figures is that we had this issue at Mahdia that pushed up the murder rate, because it is classified as murder, someone was charged for murder, and that is the challenge that the figures have. But if you take that out, you will see a significant decline based on the statistics, based on the facts, based on the reports,” the President reasoned.
In July the Guyana Police Force indicated that there was a 12.6% decline in serious crimes for 2023, notwithstanding an increase in reports of murder and armed robberies.
Taking a swipe at the US and its travel warning, President Ali said while the travel advisory issued by the US is nothing new, Guyanese traveling to the US are also concerned about the frequent occurrence of mass shootings and other crimes in the US.
“One of the problems the US is faced with today is the massive shooting in public places, in schools, in malls, in public places, and a lot of people, who are travelling to the US, even Guyanese tell me, sometimes they are worried that they could be in the wrong place, at the wrong time. Going into a mall, many Guyanese have children in those schools, and sometimes I am worried for them too,” the President said.
The President said the crime problem in Guyana and the Caribbean cannot be ignored and there is the need for a broad response.
“We have to address the guns in the region, and go to the source of the problem as to where the guns are coming from. And that is why we are engaging the US and many other stakeholders as important strategic partners,” President Ali said.
He said Guyana has been working closely with the US in the area of crime and security, including addressing the issue of drug trafficking.
“We are working in a very holistic way. One, we are building out the infrastructure for the Police Force, we are giving them more tools and equipment, more vehicles. When we came into office, you had less than 10 functional vehicles in the entire police force. Could you imagine that. When we came into office that is what we found, we had to purchase new vehicles. We had firearms that were not even firing,” the President said.
It was also noted by the President that his government is also taking steps to modernize the operations of the Police Force and increase its manpower.
At the community level, he said a number of police outposts are being constructed across the country to give support to community policing groups and strengthen the security architecture of the Force as the government takes a bottom-up approach. (Svetlana Marshall)
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