GEORGETOWN, Guyana (CMC) — President David Granger yesterday called a high-level security meeting to craft a crime fighting strategy in light of an increase in violent crime, a Government statement has said.

It gave little details of the meeting which was expected to be attended by Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo, Minister of State Joseph Harmon, Minister of Public Security Khemraj Ramjattan, Commissioner of Police Seelall Persaud, and Chief of Staff of the Guyana Defence Force Brigadier Mark Phillips.

The Government last week announced that it was implementing measures that would allow for business places to close by 2.00 am.

“Right now, authorities are doing their exercises where a lot of the people are being asked to close up at 2 0’clock,” said Ramjattan.

The measure covers many of the larger and more prominent night spots in the city and Ramjattan said while a number of bars and liquor restaurants have lobbied him against the measure he has indicated “to them that they are not going to get any assistance from me in that regard.

“I will not, in any way try to retract or renege on that,” he said, adding that it is also a, “legal requirement under the licensing arrangement for liquor operators that they bring a halt to their activities at 2 o’clock.”

Ramjattan said that “drinking has a direct relation to violence, domestic violence,” and many of the women’s organisations spoken to, have supported the new move.

He added: “And those who drink at around that time already [are] doing pretty heavy binges, spending monies that could have been spent more wisely and it has a direct effect on the number of traffic offences we have and on work ethic.

When you drink too late you can’t get up early to go to work. And even if you do, you are not working as efficiently as you ought to and so drinking at those hours have a impact on the economy.”