Region 1 police division get boats, roads, radios upgrade

Regional Division One (Barima-Waini) is now better equipped and according to Senior Superintendent Krishnadat Ramana, Commander of the division, during a recent police programme, the recent investments in boats, transport, and local support systems are helping law enforcement reach even the most isolated communities efficiently.
“The division, I can say proudly, we are not starved for resources here. This is probably one of the major issues some time ago before my time here as the commander, but I can probably say at each police station and outpost, we are having transportation so we could address the needs of the public,” Ramana said during the division’s first official outreach for 2025.
The Barima-Waini region, home to thick forests, sparse roads and wide rivers, requires a specialised approach to policing. Ramana confirmed that each subdivision has appropriate equipment to meet these needs.
“We have some river areas for example, in Batiro… Santa Cruz, Morocco, those areas, including Mabaruma, also, we have proper boats, new boats, engines, and we would patrol the river areas,” he said.

Yet patrolling these remote communities is not without its hardships. “Of course, it’s not easy because those of us who know what is happening in Region One, the area is very cold, so when we patrol in the night, you have to be prepared. And then the police are also fighting against sandflies, which is terrible. But those are the things, it doesn’t matter. Our first interest is to ensure that we serve and protect the citizens of this region,” Ramana added.
A standout improvement to regional operations has been the division’s ability to maintain its own vehicles.
“In addition to that, we do not have issues where, say, if our asset is done, our transportation is done, that it takes long to repair. We have our in-house mechanic in each subdivision, so it’s easier to service our transportation to repair and they’re easily at hand to go again and continue our work,” Ramana explained.
The division also relies on a strong network of partners to report unusual activity and to help monitor border communities.
“We have our CPG group, we have our stakeholder group, the business community. In fact, certain parts of this region, what we’ve encouraged persons to do is create some group in the villages, so when anything should happen or if they observe anything out of the norm… they would normally send messages… police could react right away and that is how we get things done in this division,” he said.
Ramana emphasised that communication and cooperation with the public is fundamental to the division’s ability to function.
“We’ve seen a number of things are happening within the river communities and we want to be there for the citizens to serve and protect them,” he noted.
Beyond resources and logistics, Ramana said the region’s strength lies in consistent presence and responsiveness.
“We’ve also been looking at entertainment areas, having police visibility there. We’re also looking at other areas, not because entertainment and commercial areas alone, we notice certain citizens live in remote areas and crimes may likely happen. We’d also visit, patrol those areas, and we would ensure that the persons there interact with them and they feel some sort of security coming from the police aspect,” he explained.
The ability to maintain constant contact and deploy quickly to far-flung areas has transformed public trust.
“The outreaches and the reception by the members of the public has been exceptional. I can say that we’ve been to places where persons haven’t seen police much, but now they are seeing police three, four times in the month,” Ramana shared.