Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo yesterday praised the Guyana Police Force for keeping the crime rate down.
He was at the time delivering the feature address during the opening ceremony of the Police Officers’ Annual Conference, where he boasted of the government’s ability to keep the country clear of the type of crime sprees which occurred under the previous administration.
“Since the assumption to office of our government, we can proudly proclaim that Guyana has no death squads, no extra-judicial killings, and no electronic support architecture for thecriminal enterprise and no agreement with the narco-syndicate to be an auxiliary of the national security apparatus,†he said.
He pointed out that fatal shootings by the police fell from 17 cases in 2008 and 13 in 2013, to only three such cases last year.
“…You have distanced yourself from contamination of past lawlessness and excesses in less than two years must be justification to say, ‘Well done.’ You could do better. And better you did,†he said to the ranks gathered at the Police Officers’ Mess Annexe.
He praised the force for lessening incidents of crime and placing captured suspects on trial.
“You have sent a strong message that you would deal condignly with law-breakers and that our system of justice ensures that those who do the crime, they would do the time! No statistics are more compelling than those for 2016 when there was a 63% detection rate for murder. Of the 142 reports, 89 cases were made out. I understand in police lingua, this is called the clear-up rate, and 63% represents the highest such clear-up rate for murder in fifteen years,†he said.
“Our government also notes with satisfaction that last year the Major Crimes Unit busted 37 cases… which include 10 “cold cases,†11 murders and 11 robberies in which firearms had been used,’ he said.
According to Nagamootoo another highlight of the force’s work is the suppression of piracy, with only one such case reported in 2016.
He assured that his government is doing all it can to ensure that ranks are outfitted with the necessary resources to ensure that they continue to effectively tackle crime and protect citizens.
Nagamootoo, performing the functions of President, called on officers to continue leading by example. “I want to invite the young ranks in the police force to set your sight on every possibility for training and educational advancement, and to see your job as a knowledge-driven vocation that has mobility and a place at the top for every enterprising and ambitious recruit,†he also said. https://www.stabroeknews.com/2...cops-reducing-crime/ https://www.stabroeknews.com/2...cops-reducing-crime/