HGP Nightly News – Home Affairs Minister Oneidge Walrond has raised fresh concern over violent incidents involving young people, warning that Guyana is facing a serious problem as more children and teenagers become caught up in crime, either as victims or perpetrators.
Her remarks come against the backdrop of recent disturbing incidents, including the fatal stabbing of a 16-year-old on Robb Street and the discovery of another teenager’s body behind the Marriott. While she said full reports on those two cases are still pending because investigations remain ongoing, Walrond made it clear that the broader issue has become too serious to ignore.
“The last two incidents that you mentioned, I’m yet to get a full report because investigations are still ongoing,” the minister said. Even so, she stressed that the pattern now emerging across the country is deeply troubling. Drawing on her past experience in the courts, Walrond said the issue strikes a personal chord.
“I sat as a magistrate for seven years, and most of those years, six and a half of seven of those years, was sitting as a juvenile magistrate, dealing with juveniles who were and minors, who were in contact with the law, who were in conflict with the law,” she said.
Walrond said it is painful to see young people lose their way so early in life, whether through violence, crime or harmful environments that derail their future. “It is an issue that is very near and dear,” she said. “It concerns me greatly when we see young people… being in conflict, in contact with the law, in this manner, prevents and derails their progress, real progress with them to become productive members of society.”
She said the problem extends beyond young offenders and includes those who are falling victim to violent crime. “Those who have been victims as well concerns me greatly,” Walrond said. The Home Affairs Minister revealed that the Government has already begun addressing the problem at a high level, with discussions involving the Commissioner of Police and other key ministries.
“At the level with the Commissioner of Police, we have sat down and we are looking at this problem in a wholesome manner,” she said.
She added that she has also been engaging the Ministers of Education and Human Services as part of a wider effort to respond to the crisis in a more coordinated way. “You’d see that I had engagements with the Minister of Education and the Minister of Human Services to be able to treat with this in a wholesome manner,” Walrond said.
According to the minister, the scale of the issue is now impossible to dismiss.
“We have way too many of crimes that are committed against young people because one is too many, against young people and being perpetrated by young people,” she said. “So we have an issue. We have a problem, and we have begin to tackle it.”
Walrond said some of the interventions now being rolled out will not be publicly disclosed, particularly measures involving schools, because revealing those details would not be wise. “Some of our interventions will not be able to be disclosed, especially in the school,” she said. “I don’t believe it’s prudent to disclose it in public, but we are working assiduously to address this issue.”
She said the Government is determined to ensure that children are not left vulnerable, whether in schools or in communities, and signaled that more targeted action will soon become visible. “We realize it’s a major issue. We don’t want our children being left vulnerable,” Walrond said.
She also stressed that solving the problem will require far more than enforcement alone, pointing to the need for stronger work at the community level. “There’s a lot of community work, a lot of community engagement is going to be needed,” she said.
