No system in place to help re-integrate deportees- Top Cop

Last Updated on Thursday, 5 February 2015, 22:10 by GxMedia

No structured arrangements are in place to help any of the recently deported 25 Guyanese reintegrate in the country of their birth, Police Commissioner Seelall Persaud said Thursday.

“There is nothing in place as far as I know. There used to be a few years ago when the IOM (International Organisation for Migration) was active here but I am not aware of anything right now so they are pretty much like they were before,” he said when asked by Caribbean News Desk.

In the past, there have been at least two non-governmental organisations that had been assisting deportees to integrate themselves as comfortably as possible in Guyana.

He, however, said that the police force was willing to explore ways of assisting any of the involuntary returnees should the need arise. “We have a lot of community projects going on all over so f they live in those communities, they will be engaged. Outside of that, is if they come and ask for specifics,” he said.

Police confirmed that all of the deportees have been released from custody and collected by relatives, family members and friends at the Criminal Investigations Department Headquarters hours after they arrived on Tuesday aboard a United States government chartered jet.

The Police Commissioner said that if information gleaned by local sleuths suggests that lawmen should keep an eye on the deportees, requests would be made to the court to do so.  “There is an assessment going on now on the need to monitor and for those whom the need arises we will apply for monitoring orders.  Apart from that, police would do the normal intelligence-led work,” he said.

The 15-nation Caribbean Community (Caricom) has in the past blamed the US for exporting hardened criminals back to their countries of birth where they have no ties and know little about Guyana. However, the US has said that figures do not support the Caribbean’s claim that deportees have been contributing to violent crime.