– APNU expresses horror By Dale Andrews Violent crimes seem to be on the increase and if the Guyana Police Force has any plans to deal with the situation, the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce & Industry (GCCI) wants them to release it as soon as possible.For now it does not appear that the Police have a blueprint to halt what appears to be another frightening crime wave in the making, judging from the uncomfortable unconcern shown by the organisation’s hierarchy.The GCCI in a forthright statement yesterday said that it is alarmed and unsettled at the number of robberies being perpetrated on city businesses and businesspersons.Police Commissioner (ag) Leroy Brumell“There is a spike in armed and violent criminal acts that is directed towards the business community in the past few months and which has intensified as of late,” the GCCI observed.The police crime figures up to the end of June showed that there were nine murders committed during the commission of armed robberies, and within recent times, three more victims were added to that figure.The GCCI is calling on the Force to respond to the threat vigorously and effectively by implementing measures “to apprehend those perpetrating these heinous crimes and moreover, dedicate additional security resources towards businesses to prevent robberies from occurring.”The GCCI also wants the police to respond promptly when crimes are reported to the various stations, since “failure on the part of the GPF to do so would only embolden criminal thugs to intensify their assault on our businesses.”For now, the criminals are getting the upper hand, attacking with impunity since the police appear to be clueless about what to do.While the police may say there is no need for panic at this stage, it is being suggested that the current situation requires the Force to go into crisis mode.“Once the boat starts to rock like this, they (police) need to have emergency sessions. The Force needs to bring all heads together, all the key people, and demand strategies from them to bring the crime rate down. The Commissioner needs to demand an operational plan from all his commanders and heads of department, both long term and short term,” one businessman with close ties to the police force articulated.“What we have today is an eight-to-four Police Force. More business will be attacked if urgent steps are not taken,” he added.He agreed with the GCCI that the criminals are becoming braver with every day that goes by without decisive action from the police.“The thieves know that the police have no plan and once the thieves get sweet (on what they are doing), they will continue to up their game, because they will steal more money to buy more sophisticated weapons and more vehicles, which they will use to roll around the place targeting prey after prey,” the businessman explained.Only recently at a police anniversary function, some officers showed a frightening unconcern for the rising crime rate, even describing it as normal.“Every fortnight, Commanders are reporting 14 to 15 armed robberies in their Divisions. Henry Greene used to hammer them, but now nobody is asking searching questions of the Commanders,” a senior police officer told this newspaper.Home Affairs Minister Clement RoheeMaybe, it is with this scenario in mind that the GCCI is also urging all businesses to take precautionary measures to ensure that they have adequate security infrastructure and procedures in place to reduce the likelihood of their businesses being targeted.“We encourage businesses to consider the use of private security services when transporting huge sums of cash and also for advisory services on the design and implementation of an effective security system and strategy.”The Chamber said that in the forthcoming weeks, the body will be releasing security advisories aimed at the business community. It will also be hosting a security seminar on August 13 to sensitise the Private Sector on strategies and best practices on securing and protecting their businesses.“We are hopeful that the Guyana Police Force can participate in this seminar so as to share its strategy for addressing the recent upsurge in violent crime that is calculated towards the business community,” the GCCI stated.And the main opposition, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), has expressed horror at the high rate of armed robberies and the state of insecurity and lawlessness that is prevailing “under the stewardship of Minister of Home Affairs, Mr. Clement Rohee.”APNU called attention to a few of the published incidents of armed robbery violent crime committed over the last forty-eight hours: “Armed men rob Laluni Street dental clinic”; “Suspected Bandits shot in the groin during attempted stick-up”; “Guyhoc Park resident shot dead after gunmen invade shop”; “Gunmen rob Rubis, Vlissengen Road and Akbar Auto Sales” and “At the mercy of Pirates – (Fishermen)”.The party said that on the 30th July, 2012, it had initiated a Motion of No-Confidence in Rohee’s ability to manage the security sector almost a year ago.“The Guyanese people, through their elected representatives, sent a clear message to the People’s Progressive Party/Civic Administration that they had lost confidence in the Minister of Home Affairs. The situation has gotten worse over the past year.”APNU said that it is once again calling on President Donald Ramotar to revoke Rohee’s appointment as Minister of Home Affairs and replace him with someone capable of restoring the people’s confidence in the Government’s ability to keep them safe.Kaieteur News understands that at another high level security meeting that was held recently at the Ministry of Home Affairs and attended by Police Divisional Commanders, Minister Clement Rohee urged that they pay close attention to a “commendable” presentation delivered by a special policy analyst.The analyst derived his analysis from the ministry’s Integrated Crime Information System (ICIS),Harrison Barnes Jersey, which gathers information from police stations that is sent to the police data centre.
