Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee

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The Guyanese public has been assured that by mid-2014 a fully functioning Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) unit will take on the crime situation in the country.This announcement was made last evening by Director of The Emergence Group (TEG) Dennis Hays during a ceremony held to ink the agreement between the Guyana Government and his organization which will provide specialised training to the anti-crime unit.According to Hays, his group is determined to put together the best possible team to approach issues of crime and security, specific to Guyana’s needs. He said that the operations are expected to start in the coming weeks where officials from the United States-based organisation will be in Guyana to assess the capabilities, equipment and skills existing in the crime-fighting sector.Following the assessments, Hays said that a “Guyanese-specific programme” will be generated to provide “more training, more mentoring and exercises that will develop components of the Police Force.”Permanent Secretary of the Home Affairs Ministry Angela Johnson and Director of TEG Dennis Hays sign the agreement in the presence of, from left; Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee, TEG official Dan Waddington and Police Commissioner Leroy BrumellThe Director explained that the extra training received will allow for the candidates to be “very equipped and very prepared” to deal with serious crime-related issues.He said that his group is aiming for a result that allows the Commissioner of Police to call upon the specially-trained officers at any time with the confidence that they can deliver what is expected.He expressed confidence that the team will be fully armed with the proficient judgment required in difficult situations.Meanwhile, Minister of Home Affairs Clement Rohee, noted that the saying ‘better late than never’ fits the SWAT team initiative, as “it has been quite long in the making.”He was also confident that the team will be able to deliver its mandate. He reiterated his commitment to ensuring that steps are taken from all necessary angles to address the crime situation in Guyana, hence the establishment of the SWAT team.The Minister urged that the team under consideration should not be compared with similar teams that existed in the past, and which have all ceased operations.“There is no way those units that existed before could be called SWAT teams,” the Minister stated.Rohee said that there have been misconceptions about what is professionally regarded as a SWAT team, compared to units that existed before.He added that this is the first time that the Government of Guyana is moving to set up a professional SWAT team, established to international standards. He thus urged that the current team not be prejudged based on the antecedents of previous units.While acknowledging that there will always be room for improvement, the Minister calculated that the team will be able to facilitate additional improvements to current capacities to fight crime and deal with serious matters that require such services.“Let’s give it a chance to be established, give it a chance to function and give it a chance to deliver,” he said.