From April 24th-27th, 2019 the Ministerial Task Force on Trafficking in Persons conducted a number of activities to increase awareness about Trafficking in Persons (TIP) in Guyana.
Anti-TIP law enforcement agents were also trained regarding other crimes which many times occur concurrently with TIP.
The Ministerial Task Force on Trafficking in Persons, with strong support from the Guyana Police Force conducted and facilitated side-by-side Training Courses for law Enforcement officials at the Guyana Police Force Officers’ Training Centre.
The first training course was held on April 24th, 2019 with the objective of equipping law enforcement officials tasked with responding to ‘Other Crimes’ with the ability to identify and refer TIP victims in accordance with local policy and law.
The Course saw participation from 19) officials from:the Guyana Police Force (GPF) Firearms Division, Narcotics Branch and Special Organized Crime Unit (SOCU); Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) Law Enforcement Investigations and Narcotics Divisions; Guyana Fire Service (GFS); Customs Anti-Narcotics Agency (CANU); Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU); and State Assets Recovery Agency (SARA).
Presentations at this Training Course were delivered by officials from the Ministry of Public Security (MoPS), Ministry of Social Protection (MoSP), GPF and Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP’s Office) on a variety of subjects including on the application of local TIP legislation and investigating TIP.
The second training course was held on April 25th, 2019 at the same venue with participation from 15 representatives of the GPFTIP, Major Crimes Investigations (MCIU) and SOCU, along with CANU, and was based on investigations of “other crimes” including infractions related to narcotics, firearms, fire regulations, labour regulations, money laundering, asset recovery, licensing requirements and mining regulations.
Presentations at this Training Course were delivered by representatives of the GPF SOCU and Firearms Division, GFS, CANU, MoSP – Department of Labour, Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) and SARA. Presentations were aimed at equipping anti-TIP Officials with the ability to respond more effectively to Other Crimes.
The Task Force also intended for the Dual Training to inspire enhanced future collaboration between anti-TIP officials and officials dealing with other crimes to more efficiently respond to the local crime situation.
A four-member team from the Ministerial Task Force on Trafficking in Persons featuring representation from the MoPS, Counter TIP Unit of the MoSP, GPF and DPP’s Office conducted a TIP Training Course for twenty-eight (28) Police Officers and Ranks, including investigators and prosecutors, on April 26th, 2019 at the Richard Fiakal Training Centre, Suddie, Region 2.
The main topics covered during the course were Understanding TIP, TIP Victim Identification, Referral and Assistance, Application of Local TIP Legislation, Role and Responsibility of the Task Force and Ministry of Social Protection Counter TIP Unit’ and Investigating TIP.
The Task Force was represented by four (4) Officers from the MoPS, MoSP C-TIP Unit and Ministry of Communitiesat the Essequibo Agro and Trade Expo on April 26th and 27th, 2019 for public sensitization on TIP.
On both days of the activity, the booth manned by the Task Force Team received useful suggestions and recommendations from public-spirited individuals while sharing basic information on the crime of TIP with patrons.
On April 27th, 2019 the Task Force Team also visited the Charity Market Area and the Charity, Anna Regina and Suddie Police Stations to erect posters with anti-TIP information.
Members of the public are invited to contact the TIP hotline numbers at 227-4083/623-5030 or the Task Force Secretariat at 226-5306 for more information, to make a report or to request a training course or awareness activity. The Task Force looks forward to continuing its collaboration with law enforcement agencies and to working with members of the general public to combat trafficking in persons in Guyana.
