…Min. Ramjattan calls for Region-wide research on crime
…says most murders in Guyana fuelled by domestic violence

By Wendella Davidson

MINISTER of Public Security, Khemraj Ramjattan, is plugging for universities in CARICOM, including our own University of Guyana, to consider researching the root causes of crime and its determinants.
According to Minister Ramjattan, “sometimes when we do not get to the root causes, we are left with the police force not having that `clinical edge’ as to how to prevent and also how to catch the criminals after a crime.

He told reporters here on Friday, that he made the suggestion at a recent meeting of Home Affairs Ministers of the Region; that meeting was held in Grenada. “I was at the CARICOM Public Security Ministers of Home Affairs meeting in Grenada, chaired by Prime Minister Mitchell, and I indicated that our universities must start looking into the root causes and the determinants. You have the University of the West Indies, several branches in Barbados, Trinidad, Jamaica and Bahamas and so on, and so we must utilise that. We also have the University of Guyana,” he told the media.

The minister, who was engaging the local media on a range of issues, including the crime situation in the country, debunked the view that the crime situation in the country is in a bad state. “It is not really true. In view of a number of people writing me letters with similar questions, I had to get back to the statistics, and not to defend the fact that yes, crimes are not happening, of course crimes are happening.
But, we have to appreciate that we live in a geo-political space – Latin America/Caribbean, where inter-personal violence is the highest in the world. We have the highest homicide rate in countries in and around the geo-political space. Countries like Honduras and El Salvador have murder rates that reach over 50 per 100, 000, Jamaica 52 per 100, 000…St Vincent and the Grenadines, St Lucia, Trinidad and so on, at 32 and 42 per 100, 000; and I am talking about CARICOM countries here,” the minister said.
He added: “We are probably one of the lowest 15 per 100, 000 and of course that is 15 more than we want happening, if we would want anything happening in relation to homicides. This 15 per 100, 000 and Barbados is lower than us by 11. A lot of people don’t appreciate that every day in some of the other CARICOM countries we have murders and very brutal ones.”

Ramjattan said what we have sometimes is domestic and largely domestic kind of murders.

The minister acknowledged that the Guyana Police Force has been constantly doing patrols all across the country, noting that at certain periods there will be spikes in robberies and murders. ”But I want to say this, that sometimes this thing is emblazoned against the front pages on newspapers, giving the impression that we are in such a bad state,” Ramjattan reasoned.

On this note, he alluded to some of the successes and headway law-enforcement officers have been achieving in catching some of the criminals, both in the city and in the hinterland. Touching on a recent murder that occurred at Plantation Hope Estate, the minister said it might appear that it was done by a family member, adding that the victim, a lady, had 700 acres of transported rice land, and there must have been something about a family arrangement whereby they might have murdered and tried to cremate her. “It was very brutal, we have brutal members in our community, but how do we stop this, when let’s say it is domestic-type violence and so on; it is a very difficult thing,” he explained.

Of the GPF, Ramjattan spoke of a recently established Strategic Management Unit and the Criminal Investigation Department touching base with universities, and collaborating with experts from the JES the JES (Justice Education Society group from Canada). In addition, efforts are being made to increase the capacity and capability of each and every detective. “We are also going to enhance the police force by getting at root causes when the recruits are also made out of better stock, if you can get eight , nine or 10 subjects, we can bring them in as cadet officers …., he added.

Noting that the salary sometimes causes many people to not want to join the GPF, the minister said better will have to be done in that respect, and expressed the hope for a better revenue stream with oil and gas, so as to enhance the salaries,.
As he reiterated the need for attracting better recruits, the minister, who has overall responsibility for the GPF said, that the training is ongoing, and that an excellent job is being done.

“With the training, that has been helping, but the root causes will have to come from academia; it will not generally come from the professional policeman, but in professionalising the police force we are trying as best as possible to get more university graduates, whether it be first degrees or master degrees into the police force. If you start building that academic background of your leadership, in the police force, you are going to get a more professional police force, it will be faster in its ability to recognise the determinants of crimes, he added.

On this note, the minister hinted at adjusting the entrance requirement in the police force, increasing the academic qualifications and also the background checks on the individuals. He said that while he prefers more CXCs, we have to live with what we have, adding that a number of people have said that persons with a higher amount of CXCs do not want to join the force because of the salary scales.