Following a needs assessment highlighting the need for training of officials involved in the fight against Trafficking in Persons (TIP), a series of training courses were held for local law enforcement officers.
Presenters and participants in the TIP Training Course for investigators from the Force’s CID Major Crimes Unit
These courses were organised by INTERPOL, the international police organisation, which is currently in the Training Phase of its Project to combat Human Trafficking and Migrant Smuggling in the Caribbean. A number of Caribbean Governments have since partnered with the agency with the aim of improving the Region’s institutional capacity to combat TIP. In this regard, needs assessments, along with other corresponding activities, were undertaken in various countries across the Region. As it relates to Guyana, the Ministerial Task Force on Trafficking in Persons welcomed INTERPOL to Guyana for the TIP Needs Assessment back in April. This was followed by several training courses. In September, Superintendent E Wray and Inspector P Harris of the Police Force’s Immigration Department, and Woman Sergeant Castello, Corporal Pitama and Woman Constable McBean of the Force’s Criminal Investigations Department’s (CID) Major Crimes Unit attended a TIP “Victim Identification, Referral and Assistance Training” in Trinidad and Tobago.
That training course targeted law enforcement agencies that work with victims of TIP in their daily operations. Trainers sought to equip participating officers with enhanced skills in effectively detecting potential victims and responding to cases of TIP.
Also in September, Assistant Superintendent Vishnu Hunte, Woman Inspector A Solomon and Corporal Deniro Jones – all Prosecutors with the Police Force – attended a training course titled “Human Trafficking Training for Legal Authorities” also held in Trinidad and Tobago. This course targeted judicial authorities engaged in the prosecution of human trafficking cases with the aim of facilitating an increase in the capacity to successfully prosecute these types of cases in the Caribbean. These courses would be followed by two more regional workshops – “Investigative Skills Training for Human Trafficking Investigations” Parts I and II scheduled for October and November. Moreover, stemming from the “Victim Identification, Referral and Assistance Training”, acting Police Commissioner David Ramnarine had organised a local two-day training course for 13 officers from the CID’s Major Crimes Unit, which was held in September at the Guyana Police Force Officers’ Training Centre, Camp and Young Streets. During this course, presentations were delivered by the officers who benefited from the INTERPOL training along with representatives of the Ministerial Task Force on Trafficking in Persons, including Non-Governmental Organisations.
