Prog. to give criminals a chance at ‘decent life,’ incentives for police coming- President

The Ali led government plans to embark on an ambitious programme to give a second chance to criminals who are interested in changing their way of life.

President Dr. Irfaan Ali during a statement on Friday afternoon said this will be done through a confidential programme aimed at helping these individuals find another means of earning an income.

“Very soon we will launch a programme, a very confidential programme to bring you in once you want to change your life. We want a discussion with you, we want to talk with you to give you an alternative pathway to earning an income and living a decent life,” he said in his statement livestreamed on social media.

President Ali pointed out that the life of crime is short lived. Speaking directly to those involved in such activities, he said “It may have in your head short term glory but it is short lived. We want to work with you on giving you a better option at life and we are going to pursue a progamme to directly interact.”

According to statistics released by the Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces, there has been a 19.4% decrease in criminal activities this year when compared to 2020. However, he noted that there are “hotspots” which are proving to be a challenge for the Guyana Police Force.

He alluded to Region One which has recorded an increase of 122.4% in criminal activities this year. This the President credited to the increase in migrant population in the Region. “There is an increased migrant population, there is displacement and of course this is causing social and economic issues of which a resultant factor is crime,” he noted.

Region 4A, which has always been a hotspot for crime, has seen a decrease of 44.4% while Region Five has seen a 52.1% decrease.

In this regard, the Head of State touted incentivizing the police force’s division based on their record in crime fighting.

“You must be recognized for good performance. Incentive based crime fighting,” he said.

In addition, the Government will be expanding the safe-city programme to install CCTV cameras countrywide to tackle crime. This, the President said, is due to the decrease in criminal activities noticed in areas with surveillance cameras.

“We are going to have a safe-country programme, we are going to have the entire country connected onto CCTV cameras so that all of the country will be under watch by the relevant authorities so that we can be proactive in crime fighting,” he noted.

The Government is also looking at investment in intelligence gathering and implementing targeted measures to combat crime.