Coordinators briefed on security, safety plans

Mashramani 2018…

Ahead of activities for next week Friday’s Republic Day celebrations, a team of senior Police Officers and other key stakeholders met with the Mashramani organisers at the Education Ministry’s Department of Culture, Youth & Sport on Wednesday.
The team included Senior Police Superintendent within A Division (Georgetown-East Bank Demerara), Wendell Blanhum; a former Crime Chief, and Commander of D Division (West Bank Demerara-East Bank Essequibo), Leslie James, among

other key ranks.
Guyana Times was told that during the discussions, the Police outlined its plan for safety and security. It was further explained that these plans include the services which will be provided by members of the Joint Services, the Civil Defence Commission (CDC) and other emergency response services.
Subsequent to that meeting, members of the media were updated on the plans for Mashramani at a press conference where it was noted that 14 bands are so far on board to join the parade and 18 will be on board by the end of week. However, Mashramani 2018 Coordinator, Andrew Tyndall was questioned on the security postures for the Republic Day celebrations. The concerns that were raised come in light of increased instances of carjackings and armed robberies.
“Before the end of the week, there’s going to be a joint press release from the Police and the Central Mashramani Committee which will indicate to the general public the roads that will be closed for Mash Day and flag raising night on the emergency exits from D’Urban Park,” Tyndall remarked. He also explained that Marshalls from the Ministry will also be present along the parade route.
According to Police statistics released earlier this week, so far for this year, there have been 45 instances of robberies under arms where firearms were used, which was on par with the comparable period in 2017. The Guyana Police Force however reported that overall, it recorded a 19 per cent decrease in serious crimes at the end of January 2018 when compared to the same period last year.
Nevertheless, robberies with firearms saw a 45 per cent increase while there was a 13 per cent decrease in robberies with no weapon. Additionally, there was a 50 per cent decrease in robberies with weapons other than a firearm and robbery with aggravation. Police at the same time also revealed they have seized some 19 firearms inclusive of one sub-machine gun and 12 pistols.