Foot & drone patrols for Christmas season, cops to tackle noise nuisance

From November to mid-January 2024, there will be increased police presence and patrols in and around the city on a 24-hour basis in order to tackle the expected increase in crime during the Christmas season.

The activities form part of the Guyana Police Force annual Christmas Police plan, which was launched on Wednesday.

According to Regional Commander for Region 4A, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Simon McBean, during this period, there is usually an increase in commercial, social and cultural activities due to an influx of visitors in the country.

As such, he said the plan is intended to aid in the reduction of crime and traffic congestion in Georgetown in order to ensure a safe environment for all businesses and shoppers.

“Special arrangements will be put in place to facilitate late shopping on Christmas Eve and old year’s day. We will heighten our focus on noise nuisance during this period, heighten traffic enforcement and special emphasis will be placed on commercial and residential areas”.

Region 4A, which stretches from Industry, East Coast Demerara to Agricola, East Bank Demerara has been divided into 15 sectors, each adequately staffed and supervised by a senior rank.

According to McBean, in each sector, there will be an increase in foot, bicycle, motorcycle, vehicular, marine and drone patrols.

“We are planning to put 82 patrols on the road on a daily basis which will include 250 police officers,” McBean said.

At the same time, shoppers are being urged to be aware of their surroundings, conceal their valuables, avoid wearing expensive jewellery and to consider alternative options of payment such as the use of a credit and debit cards.

Businesses are advised to install high quality security cameras, not to keep large sums of cash on their premises and report suspicious activity to 911.

For this period, the Police Force will also continue to work in close collaboration with the city constabulary, community policing groups and security agencies.

They will also be continuous community engagement with business community, citizens and other stakeholders.