Spanish added to curriculum of Police training

The Guyana Police Force has added Spanish into the curriculum of the Police training to better serve Spanish speaking persons who have increasingly been entering Guyana from Venezuela.

Police Headquarters in a statement said the Force continues to improve its public image and raise the bar on the quality of services delivered to Guyanese and migrants, especially Venezuelan Nationals who have taken up refuge mostly on Guyana’s western border Regions.

The training, the Force said, will prepare the young Policemen/women “to be able to deal and communicate with these migrants on a more professional level, since it is the Guyana Police Force’s duty to protect these individual due to the fact that they are more vulnerable to abuse and exploitation of all kinds.”

The influx of Spanish speaking nationals, the Police said, has placed members of the Force at a disadvantage at various border locations due to the language barrier.

Quoting Force Training Officer (ag), Senior Superintendent Fizal Karimbaksh and Commandant of the Felix Austin Police College (G/Town), Superintendent Shivpersaud Bacchus, it was revealed that the Administration of the Force sees this programme as timely.

The initiative, which started in July of this year, is being taught by lecturers from Guyana and overseas at all three of the Police colleges namely: Felix Austin Police College (Georgetown), Richard Faikall Police College (Suddie, Essequibo Coast) and Felix Austin Police College (Adventure, Berbice).

The syllabus, which focuses on the fundamental aspects of the Spanish language, is being taught throughout the duration of the recruit training and it is envisaged that the Valedictorian of the next Recruit Graduation will deliver his/her speech in the foreign language, the Police said.

Director General of the Civil Defense Commission (CDC), Lieutenant Colonel Kester Craig, had told News ROom that there are approximately 2,300 Venezuelans who have settled in Regions One and Seven.

Additionally, a large number of Cubans have been entering Guyana since April of this year as a result of the United States moving its immigration processes for Cuban Nationals to the US Embassy in Georgetown.