Guyana Observer News

Bartica police handicapped in responding to interior crime

Monday, 30 August 2010

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Chairman of Region Seven, Holbert Knights has expressed concern that police at Bartica are “severely handicapped” when responding to crimes in the interior of the gold-mining region. He also voiced alarm that violent incidents have risen Holbert Knightssharply and consequently more persons have to be referred to the Georgetown Public Hospital resulting in the bill to transport these victims rising steadily. According to Knights, while the police are “trying”, they are handicapped by the lack of transportation to respond promptly to incidents in the interior while the number of ranks stationed there is inadequate to cover Bartica as well as the surrounding areas. However, he said, the police have been able to deal efficiently with the cases that have come to their attention.

He told this newspaper on Saturday that the number of violent incidents in the interior has been rising in recent times with there being “quite a number of instances” where persons have been chopped or attacked in some way. He said that most of the injured persons are taken to the Bartica Hospital and because of the nature of some of the injuries; the victims have to be transferred to the GPH, which is costly. According to Knights, more than 90% of the injuries have been sustained during altercations or fights. Last week alone, he said, the Region had to fork out over $300, 000 to take the injured to the city.

He believes that the situations are avoidable and said that there needs to be a bigger police presence in the interior.

Another resident agreed that violent incidents were rising, particularly in the gold-mining camps. He, however, attributed this to those persons consuming alcohol and getting into fights, sometimes using knives and other implements. Recently, Bartica grocer Charles Garraway died after he was doused with gasoline and then set alight in the Oku Backdam, located near the Cuyuni River, in Region 7. He was reportedly attacked because he and the main suspect had an argument over groceries brought from his (Garraway’s) shop.

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