Minister of Home Affairs Oneidge Walrond says the government’s ongoing programme to digitise the Guyana Police Force will allow authorities to track how often calls to police stations go unanswered, describing the issue as a major concern for public safety.
Speaking during an appearance on the Starting Point podcast, Walrond said that while the country has recorded a 16 percent decrease in serious crime, the experience citizens have when seeking assistance from the police remains critical.
“What is the service the citizens are getting? How often do calls go unanswered? These are the things that attention needs to be paid to that,” Minister Walrond stated.
Walrond said billions of dollars have been earmarked this year for the digitisation of the Guyana Police Force, with the technology expected to provide greater accountability and data on police operations.
“This means the police stations recording which calls come, when they go unanswered, because that is one of the major challenges that we have,” she said.
According to Walrond, the system will make it possible to track complaints from members of the public who say they attempted to contact the police but could not get through.
“We need to be able to track and record when people say they pick up the phone and they can’t get an answer because that adds to insecurity,” Walrond said.
She also pointed to the wider use of technology in policing, including recording movements at the country’s borders and monitoring developments on the road.
“We need to be able to record when someone enters the country or any one of our borders, what happens on the road,” she said.
Walrond said the digitisation programme is part of a broader shift in the government’s approach to crime, moving away from responding only after an incident occurs and toward prevention based on intelligence and data.
“Our approach to crime and prevention is less reactive. We wait until something happens, then you go and respond. It’s now proactive, preventative,” she said.
Source: NEW ROOMS SITE
