Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan

Spiralling crime/suicide rate

As the incidences of criminal activity continue to remain high, Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan has confirmed he is worried, noting that crime and violence are great hindrances to development.

Speaking at the launch of Citizen Strengthening Security Programme, the minister pointed out crime and violence have become a legitimate concern for Guyana.

He noted that crime statistics over the years have climbed significantly, causing citizens to feel less secure. According to Ramjattan, the perception of insecurity had reached 34 per cent in 2006 but increased to almost 53 per cent in 2014 in Region Four and it was from 39 per cent to 50 per cent in Region Six. These statistics, he said, emanated from the Assessment Report of the CSSP Phase One.

The components of this phase sought to address “the weak aspects of {Crime & Violence] through differentiated social interventions in target communities.”

Another point mentioned was “the perception of the police not doing a good job.” This saw 26 per cent in 2005 increase to almost 43 per cent in 2014.

Further, willingness of citizens to get involved and help was said to have decreased from 75 per cent in 2006 to 57 per cent in 2014 in Region Four.

Although 2015 figures were not released, the Public Security Minister surmised the current plight which the country faces.

“We have the highest suicide rate according to the World Health Organisation; the highest migration rate and highest unemployment rate,” Ramjattan quoted from a Caribbean Development Bank report.

“This is indeed a sad state of affairs and so the Citizen Strengthening Security Programme has come at an opportune moment with the purpose of tackling this problem of crime and violence by working to reduce risk factors and drivers of violence and promoting and strengthening protective factors,” Minister Ramjattan remarked.

He further emphasised that relatively low levels of trust in law enforcement agencies are “based on perception reports and low level of effectiveness.” The minister did however mention that there is improvement in terms of crime investigation.

Commissioner of Police, Seelall Persaud and Director of Public Prosecutions, Shalimar Ali-Hack were both in attendance at the CSSP launch.