CariSECURE task force to tackle crime, violence rate
… data-sharing agreement signed
In an effort to tackle the high rate of crime and violence, a CariSECURE task force was launched and was signed on to at the Marriott Hotel on Wednesday by multi-stakeholder agencies, which will implement programmes and policies to reduce the scourge.
Acting Director of Prisons, Gladwin Samuels signs on to the data-sharing agreement
Guyana’s Deputy Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Shabnam Mallick revealed that the Latin American and Caribbean Region has the highest rate of crime and violence in the hemisphere.
The CariSECURE project is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in association with UNDP, and American Ambassador Perry Holloway said that the US Government was pleased to contribute to tackling crime and violence in Guyana and the region.
He further explained that the Caribbean Citizen Security Toolkit standardised the data collection process for crime statistics, making it possible for law enforcement personnel to implement more effective crime prevention strategies.
Meanwhile, Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan, in his brief remarks, underscored that under the initiative, there would be advanced mapping of crimes with the Guyana Police Force being able to better track criminals and criminal activity.
The US$14 million four-year project will build public institutions to measure crime and violence trends and measures to stand against the prevailing issues, with special focus being placed on youth violence. The heads of several stakeholder agencies signed on to the task force’s data-sharing agreement: Public Security Minister Ramjattan; acting Police Commissioner David Ramnarine; Director of Public Prosecutions Shalimar Ali-Hack; acting Director of Prisons, Gladwin Samuels and Solicitor General Kym Kyte-John.
CariSECURE is one of three components of the USAID Youth Empowerment Services (YES) project. The citizen security data will be used to develop evidence-based policies and programmes that will target risk factors that drive youth violence, crime and victimisation. A total of 10 Caribbean countries, including Suriname and Barbados, will benefit from the programme.
