Police must do more, not turn a blind eye to children on the streets

The role of police officers came under scrutiny on Monday with the Assistant Director of the Childcare and Protection Agency Levine Gouveia saying that it appears as though officers often turn a blind eye to children on the streets.

With the rollout of a “Street Light” programme from the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security, police officers are lending much-needed support to childcare officers who will be routinely visiting hotspots across the country.

At the launch of that programme on Monday, however, the Assistant Director bemoaned long-standing challenges with the police.

She said, “The biggest part of the problem… is getting members of the Guyana Police Force to enforce this.

“Children begging on the streets, they pass them by. They don’t stop, they don’t call us, they don’t do anything, so how do we respond?”

As such, she implored members of the force to work alongside the agency to remove children from those vulnerable situations where they can be exploited or abused.

Meanwhile, the Human Services Minister Dr. Vindhya Persaud said that officers will receive much-needed training to engage those children appropriately when they see them on the streets.

“We can’t wait until everybody is trained, it will be something (done) in synergy- that is, training as well as action,” Dr. Persaud explained.

To date, about 30 children have been seen at spots around Georgetown alone. Many times, those children are unaccompanied but sometimes, the minister said, they are accompanied by parents and are used to solicit money.

Over the past year, the minister related that the agency has been working with the parents and guardians of the children found on the streets. Support, training and employment are among the measures rolled out to support families.

Because there are several repeat offenders, however, this expanded focus is crucial.