Demand for kidnapping unit very low -Police Force

Demand for kidnapping unit very low  -Police Force

With calls for the establishment of a kidnapping unit in the Guyana Police Force, the Force does not see the need for a permanent unit because the demand for such a unit has been very low.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, Police Force Public Relations Officer, Ivelaw Whittaker said “the Guyana Police Force does not have a permanent kidnapping unit because it sees the demand for such a unit as being very low, given that over the last five years there were two such reports in 2009, two in 2010, one in 2011, and none in 2012 and 2013.”

Former Police Commissioner, now Opposition Member of Parliament Winston Felix has stated that there is the need for a dedicated unit to deal with kidnappings in wake of the kidnapping and murder of East Coast businessman Rajendra Singh. The man was found dead with several bullet wounds to his head and his hands tied, after family members failed to meet the kidnappers demand for $25 Million.

 The Guyana Police Force has stated that “should a permanent kidnapping unit be in place, it will be highly under-utilised and therefore the posture of the Guyana Police Force to have a number of ranks undergo specialised training and whenever there is an incident, a team/unit is mobilised to investigate under the leadership of the Crime Chief.”
The Police Force would usually activate a kidnapping unit when reports of kidnapping are received. “The team/unit is deactivated after the investigations are completed, and the ranks return to their respective permanent deployment”, the statement said.

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