Crime in Guyana, what is our Nexus?

Dear Editor,

The word nexus is a noun meaning “a connection or a series of connections linking two or more things.” It has its origin in the middle 17th century Latin ” a binding together” or nex- bound” (Oxford, 2026). Crime in Guyana has been on the rise for over 20 years starting with the dark days of prison breaks and phantom squads that led to extrajudicial killings. With the advent of the oil and gas industry, it has exacerbated the crime situation. When the cost of living rises and citizens cannot afford to meet their obligatory daily financial commitments, the penchant for crime becomes inevitable. An examination of the world crime index surprisingly, puts Guyana at 13th in the world behind Angola, Nigeria, Peru, Jamaica, Syria, Trinidad &Tobago, Honduras, South Africa, Afghanistan, Haiti, Papa New Guinea, and the number 1 ranked Venezuela. The current ranking is no happy moment for a nation that is the fastest growing economy whose government has been marching across the globe wooing suitors to invest in its newfound wealth. The occurrence of crime in Guyana is linked to the neighborhoods where individuals reside and are employed. It is the center for burglaries, robberies, homicides, and traffic violations. The migration of Venezuelans into the country has exacerbated the crime wave and has add a new element of monitoring transnational crimes such as drug trafficking, money laundering, and migrant criminal enterprises.

Crime in Guyana will take more than lofty speeches and parades by the President, Minister, and the Police Commissioner. Effective crime fighting starts with links to the communities. As a lad growing up in Linden, I can recall the community vigilante’s initiative that produced safer communities. The citizens had a direct involvement in the security situation albeit primitively, to deal with criminal violations. Unfortunately, after taking office in 1992, the current administration discouraged the community vigilante for a disorganized community policing programme.

The need for more patrol cars, motorcycles and police vans across every Guyanese community is paramount to crime fighting. It is overwhelming and grossly inadequate to provide prompt policing with one vehicle having to cover a 10–20-mile radius. With our newfound oil wealth, there is provision for patrol vehicles for each community with 24/7 patrols supported by an effective 911 hotline with training on triaging emergencies and communicating with the relevant service lines (fire, police, ambulance, and suicide counselors).

Crime fighting is a science. Models such as psychology (good cop, bad cop), broken windows and risk & actuarial criminology theories should be employed across the communities via pilot projects. The Guyana Police Force (GPF) Academy should continue with programmes related to community policing, criminology methodologies that would be integrated with the current training for ranks. The current diploma offered in crime and criminology by the University of Guyana (UG) should morph into a bachelor’s degree programme for eligible law enforcement officials. This initiative would allow police ranks to learn the theories that would make crime fighting easier while attaining practical experiences of crime fighting on the job. 

After much debate, this article was necessary to have published for this important topic in context of the current economic distribution of wealth among a few prompting disproportionate disparities and allowing for an increase in serious crimes. Crime does not proverbially sit on one leg but represents a link within the socio-economic and political setup of society. My perspective on this topic has developed following an incident in which three intruders entered my residence and stole numerous valuable items. The material items could be regained, but the sense of violation that permeates a feeling of insecurity is utterly disgusting. Government must do better to evaluate the crime situation, provide the necessary equipment and crime fighting methodologies so that both the physical and mental wellbeing of our citizens are preserved.

Thank You,

Collin Haynes MPH MBA