CPGs play integral role in crime-fighting – Commander

The Community Policing Group (CPG) of the Public Security Ministry on Saturday continued its series of events to commemorate 43 years since the establishment of the division, which was created to eradicate crime and other misconducts.
The activities were taken to the West Coast of Demerara during a route march with officers of the Guyana Police Force and members of the various CPGs.
Commander of D Division (West Bank Demerara-East Bank Essequibo), Edmond Cooper stated that these policing groups have become an integral part of assisting the Force with criminal elements in the various communities.

“In this Division, we are very much supportive of the CPG and their efforts in ensuring that crime and traffic lawlessness is being addressed appropriately. We’re working assiduously to ensure that the Community Policing Groups along with the administration of D Division work collaboratively in ensuring that we provide the best level of service to members of the community,” said Cooper.
The march culminated at the Leonora Athletics Track, where Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan related that they are looking at providing a stipend to these groups should the resources be made available.
“As best as our resources could provide, we are going to make the argument that certain stipends come your way when those resources become necessary. It is not as if we’re having the best of time now with resources and that is why we try as best as possible to get the assets like the vehicles, uniform and other paraphernalia that goes with the community policing,” Ramjattan said.
The Minister reiterated the importance of strengthening these groups by providing additional human resources and establishing new groups in other areas.
“We must do our patrols. We must increase our organisational strength and I noticed that we’ve been doing that because all across Region Seven, Region One and a couple of other places in Region Nine, we have moved to have groups set up there,” Ramjattan relayed.
It was recently announced that the CPGs have increased their presence in border villages in order to amplify security in remote locations where access to a law enforcement agency is absent.
Mechanisms were put in place to establish more Community Policing Groups as well as police stations in Regions One (Barima-Waini), Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) and Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo).
Moving forward, the Ministry stated that it will seek to increase the number of such groups in the interior regions since these groups have provided some level of security to communities that are subjected to criminal activities.
To date, there are 16 divisions and 210 policing groups consisting of 4255 members. There was an increase in the number of patrols from 5765 in 2017 to 9182 in 2018. These were carried out by foot, vehicles and vessels.
Community policing in Guyana commenced in the year 1976 with the aim of harnessing the energy of willing members of communities across Guyana in support of the work of the police.
After taking office in 2015, the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change Government had taken away the vehicles from the CPGs and handed them over to the Guyana Police Force.
In 2017, realising the importance of CPGs, Ramjattan announced that several of those resources have since been returned to the CPGs.