Serious crimes are committed predominantly by young people – Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum

Data from the Guyana Police Force (GPF) has shown that persons who are below the ages of 25 are the ones who have committed serious crimes for this year. As a result, this has become a matter of concern for the Police Force.
Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum recently reported that 68 persons under the age of 25 were arrested in relation to serious crimes thus far for the year. “These are young persons, some 17, 18, 19 years old, committing serious crimes, and we’re speaking about murders and other serious offences…and this is something that we need to address urgently. We cannot continue to lock up persons, hoping that this is going to be a solution to solve crime or prevent crime,” Crime Chief Blanhum contended.
According to him, more emphasis has to be placed on crime prevention. “Many of the young persons today…have been influenced by social media and hardened criminals to live a life of crime, and we want to prevent that… We want to work with the youths, we want to devise programmes for them, to ensure that they do not come into contact with the criminal justice system,” he said.
Blanhum also made reference to the criminal reform programme announced by President Dr Irfaan Ali, wherein persons who have committed various offences would be given opportunity to turn their lives around.

“The President has recently outlined a plan to improve the lives of some of these persons who have (been) committing criminal activities,” the Crime Chief added.
Moreover, he contended that persons need to improve their family lives in order to prevent social ills that can often lead to crime. “We cannot continue to blame law enforcement for a problem that should be solved at the level of the family. So, we’re pleading with family members to ensure that we work together to improve family lives,” Blanhum asserted.
Only last month, Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, called for restorative justice to be applied in the judicial system. Nandlall said that, in Guyana, the justice system is accustomed to the brutal aspects of punishment as prescribed by law, but according to experts in the field, such an approach has proven ineffective, and it’s high time to try something different.
The Minister said an examination should be done to determine the root cause of why persons went into the criminal justice system in the first place.

“…because, if those underlying factors are still there, and he goes into prison and he goes back to that environment and those underlying factors that precipitated his conflict with the law are still there, there is a likelihood that he will return”, he said.