Last Updated on Monday, 12 May 2025, 18:46 by Writer
The Guyana government on Monday indicated that it was increasingly concerned about the impact of “influencers” and other propagators of both false and inaccurate information on combatting crime.
President Irfaan Ali and Home Affairs Minister Robeson Benn raised their concerns in addresses to the opening of the 38th Annual General Meeting of the Association of Caribbean Commissioners of Police at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre, Liliendaal, Greater Georgetown.
Dr Ali said the speed of misinformation and disinformation posed a “growing but dangerous challenge” in which false narratives in recent years could erode public trust, destabilise institutions, and inflame social tensions.
“In the context of crime and security, misinformation is not just an inconvenience. It is a threat. It can undermine the credibility of police investigations, provoke panic, and put lives at risk,” he said.
To counter fake information, the President called for vigilance and recommended that steps be taken to engage the media and police public affairs, and other people.
He tasked the police commissioners from the English, Dutch, French Caribbean countries and territories to craft a “clear communication(s) strategy” for security across the region.
“We must strengthen the capacities of our media, our law enforcement and our communities to identify, counter and correct misinformation,” he said.
Dr Ali said Caribbean police forces were “lacking greatly” in a communications strategy “because we have not invested, we have not seen this as a priority” because communication was never regarded as a major aspect of policing.
“Today, we’re seeing how important effective communication is and you ought to address this at this conference,” he said.
The President’s concern about the absence of a communications strategy came 19 days after the Guyana Police Force (GPF) issued a statement to the media saying that a government surveillance camera picked up a missing 11-year-old girl leaving the Double Day Hotel, Tuschen, East Bank Essequibo in an identifiable car.
After the girl’s body was seen in the hotel pool on April 24, the police force later said the statement was erroneous because a member of the police force was fed hearsay information which found its way in a media bulletin.
After the post-mortem, the GPF departed from customary practice and did not issue a statement on the results.
Instead, separate pronouncements were made by the girl’s father, the then family lawyer Darren Wade and President Ali.
It was only after issues were raised by the family’s new lawyer, Dr Dexter Todd, in the media after a meeting with P0lice Commissioner Clifton Hicken and his team that the police for the first time issued a statement on the outcome of the post-mortem.
The GPF also does not hold news conferences when there are serious crimes or incidents of major national interest.
The GPF seldom responds to media enquiries promptly, often times leaving questions in the media WhatsApp group for hours or days.
That WhatsApp group includes the Commissioner of Police, district commanders and other high-ranking police officers.
Home Affairs Minister Benn said new and active threats have emerged.
They include cybercrime, financial crimes, terrorism, insidious criminal actors, political rejects and “presumed influencers”.
He said they were “determined to use any negative circumstance to their advantage to make capital and to advance agendas which do not serve the common good.”
The Guyana Press Association last week urged President Ali to abort his plan to redefine the media.
The Association essentially said the line must be drawn between those who practice journalism based on professional standards and ethics and others such as influencers and other social media actors.
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