by Stacy Carmichael-James
Speaking on the May 6, 2016 airing of the televised programme, “Public Interest” President David Granger dismissed the notion that the sudden rise in crime occurred when his administration took office last May, instead the President reasoned that the country is now coming out of a long period of intense violence that festered under the previous administration.
Granger said many of the youngsters who witnessed crimes during the early 2000’s are now grown and may have been impacted negatively, he therefore called on persons not to assume that crime suddenly came on the scene, noting that “we are now seeing the impact of those lawless years”
He also cited that many of these crimes were never investigated by the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) administration, while in office. Granger said even the relatives of the late Satyadeow Sawh approached him asking that the case be investigated.
The Head of State said the crime figures are decreasing, pointing out that many of the events that have been publicized are not preventable by the state “if a woman hires a hit man to kill her father and if a man hires a hit man to kill his wife, these are interpersonal disputes which the state cannot be held responsible for.”
Granger informed that the Guyana Police Force (GPF) has implemented measures aimed at tackling crime head on, pointing to the fact that the entire hinterland division now lives in those areas rather than being stationed at Eve Leary, Georgetown, allowing for greater efficiency.
Those areas he said will be further subdivided.
Granger further noted that the Criminal Investigations Department has been augmented with the inclusion of better trained detectives. The GPF has also embarked on aerial patrols along the coast. These measures and others over the past seven months, have been supplementing Operation Drag net.
And while President Granger is confident that things are getting better, despite media reports, he however expressed dissatisfaction with the Forensic aspect of crime fighting, noting that Public Security Minister, Khemraj Ramjattan is working to get the forensic laboratory operationalized.
Granger said “we’ve been in office 11 months and we have inherited a certain situation throughout the security sector, it has affected what has happened in the prisons, what is happening in our ability to investigate crimes and it has affected the spate of crime.”
