| The coalition APNU+AFC has indicated that it intends to reform the police force, as well as implement a Special Victims Unit (SVU) to address issues of domestic violenceAt a recent forum held at the Theatre Guild Playhouse, Parade Street,Pat Tillman Cardinals Throwback Jersey, Kingston, APNU+AFC Presidential Candidate, Brigadier David Granger (ret’d),Custom Barcelona Jerseys, and Executive member,Custom Utah Jazz Jerseys, Catherine Hughes,Cheap MLB Jerseys China, addressed a number of concerns of women and youths in Guyana.The forum was arranged by the Guyana Women Roundtable (GWR) in collaboration with the Guyana National Youth Council (GNYC), so that members of civil society could take their concerns to the candidates contesting the upcoming General and Regional Elections.Among issues raised were the fact that the Guyana Police Force is in dire need of more female officers,Baker Mayfield Jersey, and the fact that police in general are not sympathetic enough when dealing with female victims of domestic abuse.According to Granger, the police force “needs persons who are capable of extending sympathetic counsel to victims of violence”.“Very often a station sergeant is not the best person (to deal with instances of domestic violence). Many who are victims of violence are disinclined to make reports about sensitive matters to persons who are strangers; and persons who they feel might not sympathise with them,” Granger asserted.The Presidential candidate opined that the salary that is currently being offered to members of the police force is not enticing, and would not attract and retain quality people.Granger said that the Guyana Human Rights Association recently published records that indicate that most cases of rape and domestic violence in Guyana never ever make it to trial, and when they do, rarely end in convictions.In explaining that there needs to be a reform of the Guyana Police Force, Granger stated, “There is a failure in something called the Guyana Police Force, and we [APNU+AFC] recommend that the Guyana Police Force be reformed to deal more sympathetically with the heart of the population, who are women, and who make complaints of a domestic nature.”Catherine Hughes in her opening address at the forum, said that with respect to instances of domestic violence, very little has been done over the past few years. She said that as part of the APNU+AFC agenda, a Special Victims Unit would be attached to every police station to deal specifically with these sensitive matters affecting women.If the party is elected after the May 11 polls, Hughes said that the aim would be to ensure that “when a woman goes into a police station to report an instance of domestic violence or rape… or any kind of situation with violence, there is a special unit, funded with the requisite social workers and psychologists that can deal with the situation and can provide some solution.”She stressed, however,NFL Jerseys China, that in the area of domestic violence,Cheap NFL Jerseys, “we need to ensure that the psychologists and social workers dealing with the issue are being paid a salary that they can live on, and that there is proper training of all those tasked with handling such cases”. |
