Ramotar calls for army to join in fight against crime

NOVEMBER 17, 2015 | BY KNEWS | FILED UNDER NEWS

Former president Donald Ramotar is appealing to the government to actively involve the Guyana Defence Force in the fight against spiraling crime.

Ramotar in a press statement issued, yesterday, said that he is extremely disappointed that the mentality in the APNU+AFC regime is to keep the army in barracks at this present time. His comments came in the wake of Sunday morning’s wanton invasion by armed criminals on the home of Assistant Commissioner Leslie James. Ramotar said that the attack on the former Crime Chief by bandits tells the grim story of how crime is spiraling out of control in Guyana, a position that is continuously being refuted by the Guyana Police Force. “This is a blatant and brazen attack on one of our most senior police officers. It is a slap in the face of the Guyana Police Force and the government as a whole,” Ramotar stated. According to the former Guyanese leader, it is not strange these days for the military to be deployed to assist the regular law enforcement agencies in crime fighting. During the PPPC period in Office, the Army was called out to do joint patrols with the police in times of heightened criminal activities, and according to Ramotar that arrangement worked well. This scenario was played out with significant success during the crime wave of 2002-2008 when criminal gangs created mayhem in the city and along East Coast Demerara. In those days an entire contingent of GDF personnel was deployed in the village of Buxton where the major criminal gang was holed up. Ramotar indicated that this arrangement is now necessary during the festive season, since it would seem that the criminals are upping the ante.

The GDF and police have worked together with significant success in the past.

“During the holiday season, the PPP/C administration had a programme where the army and police had joint patrols between November 15 and January 15 to minimize the crimes in the country. This needs to be continued now,” Ramotar said. He noted that the trend all over the world is for the army to come out and work with the police in combating crime, as in the case of Trinidad and Tobago, Mexico among others in the world. Ramotar said that it is accepted that as the nature of crime evolves, the role of the Disciplined Forces must also evolve. The world over the army is doing more to fight crime he pointed out. “I am very disappointed at the casual way the government seem to be handling the situation. I call on the regime to immediately take steps to have the army assist the police with joint patrols now. If Mr. Leslie James’s home was so wantonly invaded, no one is safe from the criminals,” the former head of state said. Meanwhile, Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum, has said that investigators have managed to ascertained the identities of the perpetrators of Sundays attack on his former boss, and it’s just a matter of time before they are apprehended. Blanhum said that several searches were carried out and investigators will be intensifying their efforts to bring them to justice.