1000 “COPSQUAD” graduates equipped to better tackle domestic violence cases

Some 1000 members of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) graduated on Friday from the Human Services and Social Security Ministry’s COPSQUAD initiative that provides them with special training to handle domestic and gender-based violence cases.
Done in collaboration with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) under the Spotlight Initiative, this programme aims to train 2000 officers across the country on how to address such reports in a manner that follows international best practices.

During the graduation ceremony at the National Cultural Centre, Human Services Minister Dr Vindhya Persaud encouraged the graduates to hold themselves to a high standard as the country is on a fast-paced developmental trajectory and the Force holds a crucial role in that development.
“When that report is made, I urge you to treat it with every seriousness it deserves, make sure the report is written and submitted in a timely way so that prosecution can happen. This is the kind of thing that relates to the overall peace of our country… it is peace in homes, peace among family members, peace in the community and it starts with our attitudes, behaviour and our response to it,” the Minister said.
Dr Persaud added that this initiative is not to be seen as “just another type of training,” but as a transformative catalyst where the GPF can earn the recognition of the citizens they serve through their proactiveness when it comes to combatting domestic violence.
Home Affairs Minister Robeson Benn commended Minister Persaud for her efforts while noting that there is a fruitful relationship between the two Ministries.
“I just want to thank Minister Vindhya Persaud for keeping us on the straight and narrow and taking us to higher levels with the support of the United Nations and other persons from the international communities,” Benn said.
United Nations (UN) Resident Coordinator Ye?im Oruç also expressed appreciation for this effort and noted that this partnership with the European Union (EU) on eliminating gender-based violence through the Spotlight Initiative is the largest investment by the UN and the Government of Guyana to tackle this issue.
Meanwhile, Acting Commissioner of Police, Clifton Hicken assured of the Force’s plans to utilise the training.
“Training that is not used is no training at all so what we are going to do is have you decentralised across the 10 administrative regions at every Police station and outpost so that the level of service delivered to the public will be enhanced,” the Commissioner said in regards to the graduates.
The officers who completed the training also expressed enthusiasm as they prepare to implement the knowledge gained from this training.
“This training has impacted me a lot given the fact that I used to work patrol before and I used to be a first responder to domestic violence case and it taught me to identify and face certain challenges that victims may face and how I go about dealing with the situation more so it would help me in my prosecution to ask questions which are more relevant so I would not have the victim relive or think what happened,” said Corporal John Munesh, a prosecutor at Leonora.
Meanwhile, 911 responder Taneisha Ramdhan said “this training has been a wonderful experience for me as a 911 call taker and I would be able to take reports of people who are being abused and I could be able to assist them as fast as possible.”
In February 2023, 500 officers had graduated, bringing the number of officers trained to effectively handle cases of gender-based Violence to approximately 1500.