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Any thought that the Guyana Police Force will have capacity to fight crime by using aircraft has beenPresident David Grangershelved, at least for now.According to President David Granger, establishing aerial capacity of the Police Force is not too high on the list of priorities for the government.This means that the Police will have to continue to rely on the Guyana Defence Force for aerial support.President Granger told reporters last Thursday, following the opening of the Annual Police Officers’ Conference,Wholesale Authentic Jerseys, that the current situation with the army supporting the police with air support is working quite well.“The important thing is that they already have a capability. You may not realize it but every single month we have been conducting aerial anti-piracy patrols. Many you can’t remember when last there was a piracy attack,Wholesale NFL Jerseys,” the President stated.Three years ago, the People’s Progressive Party/Civic through the then Minister of Home Affairs, Clement Rohee, had announced that police ranks at the level of Cadet Officers will be trained at the Art Williams and Harry Wendt Aeronautical Engineering School and the Guyana Defence Force (GDF).Rohee had said that the objective is to establish an Aeronautical Branch of the GPF so it could own and operate its own aircraft.But according to President Granger, while ownership is good,Cheap NFL Jerseys China, the function is also important.“We are conducting reconnaissance of our coastland,NFL Jerseys Authentic, literally from Skeldon to Charity,” the President said.But is this enough? Especially, given Guyana’s porous borders through which drugs and weapons are brought in, and its vast forested terrain where monitoring operations could be difficult.And with the need for swift police deployment to these regions becoming more necessary, it was envisaged that aerial capacity for the Police Force will be of utmost importance.It has been two years since the Guyana Police Force selected 15 of its ranks to undergo training to become aircraft pilots but the plans appear to be in limbo.The training should have commenced in 2014 as long as funds were provided in that year’s budget.Two budgets later and of course no funds were provided for the programme in the estimates.Some senior officers of the Guyana Police Force believe that the present position of the new government is a backward step.Applications were received from a number of ranks and interviews were conducted. In the end,Wholesale NFL Jerseys, 15 officers were selected and were ready and waiting to be trained.The ranks identified by the Force for the training, were interviewed a year ago by prominent local aviator Captain Gerry Gouveia.“I did the shortlisting and I haven’t heard back from the police. I did what I had to do,” Gouveia had told Kaieteur News in 2014, adding that he highly recommends and supports the programme.He had stated that for the police to effectively provide security in the hinterland, there is a definite need for them to mobilize more air support.He was impressed by the enthusiasm shown by the ranks who were selected for the programme.“It is a highly required skill and the young men were some very good young men,Cheap China NFL Jerseys, I don’t know why they (the police force) did not follow up,” Gouveia had stated.Also in 2014 former Commissioner of Police Winston Felix who is an A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) Member of Parliament, was supportive of the programme.He said that Guyana needs a policy to address the issue of crime and it should include air, land and sea assets to fight crime in the interior.“In the sprawling hinterland community there is need for an aircraft. The police should have adequate vessels and vehicles and the force itself should have increased numbers that it can maintain a fighting strength to deal with the issues of the day,Cheap NFL Jerseys China,” he said. |
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