Gov’t investing in marine patrol to enhance police response time– President Ali

Very shortly, a marine response arm of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) will be activated as the government has invested monies for the procurement of patrol boats that will be based along the coastline.

This is according to President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, His Excellency Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali in his address at the opening of the Annual Police Officers’ Conference on Thursday.

The president mentioned that two patrol boats have already arrived in the country, while two more are expected to arrive soon. This investment is aimed at matching assets with the landscape to provide a more effective policing system.

“We have all the rivers. We’re known as the land of many waters. We’re known for expansive rivers that cover our coastland but we never utilised this asset to support policing,” the head of state articulated.

According to President Ali, this initiative will drastically improve the police response time, especially in emergencies that have occurred in highly congested areas along the coast.

“If you have to go through the traffic from Stabroek to Diamond, the marine response will be half the time or less the time to establish a presence anywhere on the coast,” he explained.

Moreover, the government is investing in agile units that are equipped with quick-response assets to further improve the response time.  Additionally, these outposts will be technologically fitted.

“That is what is happening now, we’re building out these smaller nut more agile units to respond faster, to integrate greater and to build relationship within the community,” the president affirmed.

The head of state also revealed that a platform is being established to incorporate all stakeholders involved in security to ensure a coordinated effort to maintain law and order and provide a safe environment for citizens.