Reducing Crime, Rebuilding Public Trust & Reforming Public Security in a Green Economy

(Excerpts from Budget 2015) Vision 2020 is a reflection of our Government’s confidence in our people to function with a One-Nation mindset and build this great land of ours to the benefit of all of us. It envisages sustainable socio-economic development, good governance and human safety within a green economy. A Green Economy is one in which we have improved human well-being and social equity, while significantly reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcities. It includes a resilient, low-carbon, socially inclusive economy that provides a better quality of life for all within the ecological limits of our planet.  It is built on the basic tenet that people need nature – for now and in the future. Guyana’s Green Economy must be built around Article 36 of our Constitution that requires that we sustainably extract our natural wealth for the benefit of current and future generations.  As a country that is so heavily dependent on its natural resources, we must exploit and use our minerals and other natural resources responsibly, so as to increase the total stock of (these) resources which is made up of our human, social, natural, and built capital. The proceeds of resource exploitation must be invested to grow the capacity of our people and society as a whole; to diversify our economy; to improve the sustainable and resilient infrastructure needed for this Green Economy; to establish the robust governance systems that ensure that these gains are sustained; and to ensure that our basic natural asset remains available for our children. This must not only be measured by the roads that we build, the rivers that we bridge, and the energy that we generate. It necessarily also includes the systems we put in place to ensure that our waterways are conserved for our livelihoods, for our recreation and for our traditions.  It includes the systems for the management of our forests and savannahs which we conserve and sustainably manage, for the soils and freshwater they produce and replenish; for our energy and food production, and for the below- and above-ground resources they contain.  It also includes the systems we put in place to ensure that we receive compensation for the global climatic and ecological services that are intact and sustainably managed ecosystems provide. The principle of a green economy will pervade all of our sectors and our work.  From the reduction in the use of paper in offices to expanded use of renewable sources for generating energy across the country, from recycling paper and plastics to climate-smart designs for our buildings. The year 2020 will reveal a Guyana that is demonstrably more environmentally responsible, a Guyana that will be truly considered a Green Economy. CRIME, PUBLIC TRUST AND SECURITY SYSTEMS REFORM The crime situation is the most pressing (and the most depressing) problem facing our nation today. The PPP/C administration failed to arrest banditry, piracy and criminal violence among other crimes.  We need radical action to reform our criminal justice system.  We need a police force that is more accountable to the public and better able to deal with crime and anti-social behaviour that is (the) anathema to a good life. The Government is fine-tuning a comprehensive Public Security Plan with emphasis on:- · Aggressively combating crime · Regaining public trust of the police force · Improving police investigative capabilities · Rebuilding an efficient and effective criminal intelligence system · Rebuilding the Criminal Investigation Department · Restructuring recruitment standards · Revitalizing the Cadetship Scheme · Counteracting human, drugs and arms trafficking · Acquiring vehicles (boats and other forms of transportation) and modern equipment to fight banditry, piracy, terrorism and other violent crimes. Further, we will: (i) implement the recommendations of the Disciplined Forces Commission; and (ii) seek the assistance of friendly nations and international crime fighting agencies. Under the Citizens Security Programme, the Government will begin to implement several activities to support the security sector. One key aspect of this programme involves evidence-based interventions associated with interpersonal violence, such as parenting, gender values and norms and conflict resolution. In addition, we will proceed with vocational and remedial literacy training of people in communities to enhance their job readiness and their capacity for entrepreneurship. This programme also involves mentorship, counselling and psychological skills training that will enable people living inside the communities to identify individual and communal/societal problems and develop bottom-up solutions to prevent and fight crime and violence. Simultaneously, support will be provided to strengthen the Guyana Police Force’s Crime Prevention and Investigative capabilities through training and application of technologically advanced forensic and criminal investigation techniques.   Of course, the valuable element of inter-agency co-operation and co-ordination will form a vital part of this programme. In 2015, the Government will establish a command centre to enhance crime response capabilities.  Other interventions include resuscitation of CCTV feeds within the Georgetown to Timehri environs, and dramatic improvements in the 911 emergency services countrywide. The Government has allocated $21 billion to strengthen and improve our national security services. Of that amount, the sum of $11.9 billion will support the operations of the Guyana Police Force, the Guyana Prison Service, the Guyana Fire Service, and the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU).  A further $9.1 billion has been budgeted for the Guyana Defence Force.  These allocations will be used to improve the physical infrastructure, upgrade the (motorized) security fleet, acquire tools and equipment, and upgrade the security features for machine readable passports. With respect to the programme to decentralize the processes for application and issuance of passports, a sum of $9.7 million has been budgeted.  Among the prerequisites will be the acquisition of the required equipment for the production of machine readable passports. (To be continued)