Latest update March 29th, 2024 12:59 AM
Feb 21, 2009 News
Police Commissioner Henry Greene said that the separation of the largest police division in the country, E&F Division, and the relocation of its headquarters are under active consideration.
The Commissioner was responding to a recommendation made by PNCR-1G Member of Parliament, Deborah Backer during the debate on this year’s national budget.
Backer told the National Assembly that, given the geographical size that the division is mandated to cover, the administration should seriously consider splitting the division into two parts to give it more administrative leverage.
The E&F Division covers an area of 152,000 square kilometers, almost half the total size of Guyana and, despite the relatively small population, is considered one of the most important areas in the fight against criminal activity.
The PNCR MP said that she sees no rationale for the headquarters of that police division to be located at Eve Leary, while all the other divisional headquarters are situated in the area of operation.
“What this shows is a continued non-understanding of the scale and scope of the hinterland security problem. More and more people have been killed and there is more violence in our interior,” Backer said.
She pointed to Guyana’s vast borders, unpatrolled open spaces, unmonitored airstrips and numberless rivers which are corridors for illegal narcotics and firearms to be carried to commit crimes on the coastland.
According to Backer, the feeling that the coast is insulated from this has been a historical error.
“There has been a historical error to underestimate the special dimension of national security. If the PNC did it and they did it wrong, now there is time to change it. We’re saying: change it,” Backer pointed out. On Thursday, Police Commissioner Henry Greene said that there was valid reason to relocate the headquarters of the division to Police Headquarters, Eve Leary.
He said that at one time the headquarters of the E&F Division were located at Wismar, but this was reversed when it was noted that, because of the geography of some of the interior stations, the ranks still had to travel to Georgetown.
Greene believes that, since the town of Linden is not as explosive as in previous years, there was no need to relocate the divisional headquarters there. “It has remained as E&F as one division but it is under consideration. It will just have to be some administrative changes. At the moment Georgetown is the most convenient place,” the Commissioner said.
There has been an upsurge in criminal activity in Guyana’s hinterland, including several murders and robberies and because of the vastness and remoteness of the area, it takes the security forces quite a while to effectively respond.
THIS IDIOT TELLING GUYANA WE HAVE NO SAY IN THE 50% PROFIT SHARING AGREEMENT WE HAVE WITH EXXON.
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