GPF records success in 216 major cases

− calls on public to be more supportive

The Guyana Police Force (GPF) said it has made some significant inroads in solving several major cases so far for this year, and has also called on the general public to give its support as it sought to reduce the high incidence of crime.

On Monday, Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum said the successes, notwithstanding the challenges, had been many and could not have been possible without the commitment, patience and dedication of every member of the Force.

He noted that the Force was able to solve the murder of British teen Dominic Bernard, who was killed and his body dumped in a Corentyne, Berbice village in March of this year. That case, he said, began as a missing person case, but evolved into murder. He said accurate and timely intelligence enabled Police to arrest both prime suspects and others who were implicated in the crime.

Another case that was solved was the triple murder on the Corentyne in July. According to the Crime Chief, the breakthrough in that case was as a result of patience and commitment by investigators, who were able to nab all four suspects.

Investigators were also able to crack the case of what was first treated as a missing person’s case – the murder of Simone Hackett back in April. Her reputed husband and a taxi driver were charged with her murder.

Blanhum spoke too of the murder of Professor Perry Mars in May. He said Police were able to solve the crime in a matter of 12 hours – discovering some juveniles committed the act.

Police were also able to solve the case of the disappearance of Babita Sarjou, who went missing several years ago. Her husband and his accomplice were arrested for her murder this year.

Among the other successes was the solving of a cold case some 17 years old.

Speaking at the Police Christmas plan launch on Monday, Blanhum said the Force still needed the support of the public and stakeholders, in order to maintain law and order and ensure the security of the people.

“We continue to recognise that there is a trust deficit among Police and the amount of trust they place in members of the public. We will continue to seek to build and improve the trust among members of the public,” the Crime Chief promised. He pointed out that the Force has charged several ranks for corruption.

Blanhum also spoke of the other challenges being experienced, including the inability to extract CCTV footage from crime scenes as well as the poor quality of some footage, and witnesses failing to attend ID parades. In an effort to tackle the latter, divisional commanders were being asked to visit the victims and persuade them to attend the parades. That strategy has been garnering some success, Blanhum said.

Meanwhile, in addressing concerns that licensed gun owners may be renting their weapons to criminals, Police Commissioner Seelall Persaud said there has not been any evidence collected to link licensed firearms to crime scenes. However, Police have been investigating that possibility in several cases based on information.

“I don’t recall that evidence has been collected to prove that, in any of the cases. There are a few ongoing investigations where the line of enquiry suggests that. There is a current murder investigation where that is one of the lines of enquiry by the detectives,” Persaud told media operatives at the event.

In a video released by the Ministry of the Presidency, over the weekend, Persaud had said that certain security services that are inherent to business entities were being used for unlawful purposes.

“Right now, we have a murder investigation going on and one of the lines of enquiry is that a licensed firearm holder, (who) has a number of firearms for a security company, is renting those guns to persons who are not licensed and who are not authorised to carry them. And one such incident resulted in the death of a person – a murder – that we are investigating,” Persaud stated.

According to the Commissioner, the Police have been hearing about this unlawful practice in many other cases. He noted too that the Police Commissioner has the authority under the Private Security Act to conduct audits at the entities in light of such allegations.

However, the Top Cop recognised that more resources would be needed so that Police could conduct these audits more frequently and spontaneously to obtain evidence of what is happening.