Police more equipped to deal with fraudulent documents

Last Updated on Saturday, 26 December 2015, 20:59 by GxMedia

Guyana is now better poised to counter the production and use of fraudulent documents as it has trained 70 persons and has received 200 fraudulent document detection kits.

Twwo batches of 35 persons on Friday each concluded training under the Fraudulent Document Detection Programme.

At the Guyana Police Force Training Centre, Young and Camp streets, Home Affairs Minister clement Rohee received the kits from Canadian High Commissioner Dr. Nicole Giles, courtesy of the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives (CFLI). The kits consist of portable magnifiers and hand held black lights.

Training, which started in October 2013, comprised theoretical sessions which were followed up by a four -day intense practical training from February 04, 2014 and concluded today.  Officials from the Guyana Police Force, Customs and Immigration and the General Register Office all participated.

Minister Rohee noted that this training programme must be seen in context of the Government’s fight against transnational organised crimes, and an effort in building capacity to be able to be part of the fight. He said that while fraudulent documents are not a new threat, the techniques used to develop them have become more modern and sophisticated, therefore the counter that is used in the fight against it should be developed in order to be effective.

The Minister sees this training programme as a part of the effort to modernise the Guyana Police Force. “The training programme which has been offered by the Canadian authorities in this particular area is aimed at enhancing the awareness, efficiency and capacity of the persons that were trained to detect fraudulent documents.”

He expressed gratitude on behalf on the Government towards the Canadian authorities, noting that the training will go a long way in enhancing Guyana’s fight against transnational crimes.

Police Commissioner, Leroy Brumell, who opened the training in October 2013, highlighted that the force was grateful for the opportunity presented to them by the CFLI, and assured that what was learnt would be implemented to the fullest extent in order to combat the use of fake documents.

High Commissioner Giles noted that transnational criminal threats cannot be faced in isolation, but international threats need international attention. “It is for this reason Canada and Guyana have chosen to co-operate and tackle the threat posed by the use of fraudulent documents, through the implementation of the Fraudulent Document Detection Programme.”

Guyana now stands in a better position to restrict the use of falsified documents on a large-scale basis, create a level of competency of on-the-spot detection of fraudulent documents, and improve the level of investigative skills in cases involving such documents.