Forty members of the proposed police Special Weapons And Tactics (SWAT) unit commenced preparatory training yesterday as a precursor to the arrival of specialist overseas trainers in two weeks’ time.Home Affairs Minister, Clement RoheeKaieteur News was reliably informed that those chosen (including four officers) will undergo physical assessment and remedial weapons training in advance of the arrival of the special trainers.Last Friday, Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee told a packed Police Officers Training Centre auditorium that an Organizational Needs Assessment for the Unit has been completed,Basket Jordan Junior Soldes, while training should commence by mid-January.He disclosed that the Ministry has signed a contract with The Emergence Group (TEG) of the United States of America to train ranks for the Unit.The SWAT unit is being established to confront special types of violent crime.While senior officials of the force are tightlipped about the composition of the initial batch of ranks for the SWAT unit, a reliable source has indicated that some of them have had previous specialist training.“They couldn’t just pick any ‘green’ man,” the source said.This newspaper was told by a rank who was picked to be part of the unit that the plan is to narrow down the number to about 25 by the end of actual training.“We want to have two teams of 12 (ranks) each,” the rank disclosed.Guyana’s SWAT unit will be fully operational by August. This was the assurance given by Director of the US- based security and justice reform consultancy firm, TEG,Cheap Sneakers From China Free Shipping, Dennis Hays, during the signing ceremony for finalisation of the SWAT contract between his organization and the Home Affairs Ministry, last October.“We have had many good and serious back-and-forth discussions on setting up the team,” Hays had said.TEG has already identified individuals who will be coming to Guyana in the near future to have a firsthand look and assessment of existing capabilities, skills and equipment after which they will develop a country-specific programme. The plan will include training and mentoring exercises aimed at enhancing the Guyana Police Force. Funding and equipment for the unit, identified by the trainers, will be handled by the Ministry of Home Affairs.According to the Ministry, establishment of a SWAT team has received the full support of the leadership of the Force.“There is absolute need for an elite police unit to go after the killers in our society, who are becoming bolder,Jordan Retro 10 Noir,” a former senior officer declared.The proposed SWAT unit comes a little more than a decade after former President Bharrat Jagdeo had ordered the establishment of a similar unit to tackle crime during the unforgettable crime wave of the early to mid 2000s.Then, a British team of trainers had trained close to 300 ranks from the Tactical Services Unit, using specially recommended firearms. However,Wholesale Shoes From China Free Shipping, the SWAT unit initiative was shelved by the then Police Commissioner Winston Felix.Most of those trained are either out of the Force or have been posted to other departments.Prior to that, the closest thing Guyana offered for a SWAT unit was the highly controversial but feared Target Special Squad .But not everyone is supportive of the establishment of the SWAT unit.Shadow Minister of Home Affairs and former Police Commissioner,Cheap Air Max 90 China, Winston Felix, is not persuaded that the intended special unit will have any effect on the current crime situation.Felix is convinced that Guyana has not reached a state where a SWAT team is necessary and is concerned that not only will the unit utilize much needed finances and manpower, but like past poorly managed specialized units, it could “become wayward.”Former Police Commissioner,Jordan 13 Retro Homme,Winston FelixThe former Top Cop said that several years ago the SWAT initiative was introduced during the crime spree, and although it was more appropriate then, he was not mindful for the commissioning of the team, “since none of the incidents attracting SWAT response escalated to armed intervention.”He said that the SWAT team is not a highly or heavily armed patrol group, but one that is constantly trained and upped with the latest crime-fighting gadgets for incidents that require decisive tactical skills. “A SWAT Team is better prepared during periods of inactivity. They get into training because the skills they need have to be constantly upgraded, and so I see it as being very expensive with little utilities in these parts