Dear Editor,
Over the Holi weekend, I had occasion to reflect on the recent flurry of news and views about the police and policing in Guyana. The Commissioner offered statistics a couple of weeks ago, and the EU Ambassador recently declared Guyana safe for investment – but then we have recently heard of the tragic demise of a police officer, killed accidentally by the weapon carried by a colleague in a party of officers hunting a wanted killer. That same week the media reported the incredulous story that a fusillade of bullets was fired by police officers at a car driven by a police officer, without hitting anyone – a story properly rubbished though not completely dismissed by the Minister of Home Affairs.
I am truly happy with the endorsement by the EU Ambassador. He is correct to do so for Guyana is certainly not an inherently dangerous country and we are open for business. Guyana is, however, a country where persons can be easily corrupted –police officers too – so there’s always the possibility of a dangerous situation emerging quite randomly at any given time.
Where police officers are concerned, corruption is not always financial. Sometimes it manifests in dereliction of duty or taking short cuts – corruption of their role in other words. The root cause of those behaviours is low morale due to inadequate wages and inadequate training.
Drivers, especially of minibuses and taxis, and motor cyclists too, often breach road traffic laws with impunity – even in the presence of traffic ranks, as they know there would be no consequences. Often the police will not investigate unless someone is murdered or raped. They might more easily investigate other types of cases if incentivised by a party – and one wonders about the transparency of specialist departments of the police force. I recall the September 2021 visit by a SWAT team around 04:40hrs to the home of Dartmouth businessman, Orin Boston, who was shot dead in his bedroom. The officers in that specialist team were not wearing body cams!
I know of a police outpost in the interior through which unlicensed truck drivers heading deep into the Backdam are allowed to drive through this mandatory checkpoint upon payment of $10,000 each round trip. The drivers, many quite young, are highly proficient off-road – but they acquire those skills by practical experience whilst risking others’ lives, equipment and goods. They are fine with paying the police for each trip, sometimes for three trips in a month, rather than do the test and acquire a driving licence. The police meanwhile are happy to facilitate guys who only want an opportunity to work and make a living. I recall, I’d written it down back then, listening to a clearly appalled Magistrate tell a detective after he had completed his evidence: “What you did was not part of any SOP of the Police Force”.
A businessman lodged a complaint at Parika Police Station several months ago. It was a report of larceny amounting to several hundred thousand dollars. It took some 2 months for the police to visit the scene and speak to anyone. One of the officers in that party was armed – so looking back on what unfortunately happened recently to Sgt Vaughn, R.I.P., the businessman’s life, unknowingly to him at the time, was in real danger as he accompanied the police party travelling by speedboat. A further four months on, there have been personnel changes at Parika Police Station but apparently nothing at all done by the police to progress the matter – not even the interviewing of the known sole-suspect!
It is true that nobody was murdered or raped – and that the police having limited vehicular resources have not been incentivised by the businessman – but is that all there is to it? Should that be all there is to it? The businessman has not indicated that he was asked for any incentive. Don’t police forces worldwide have important investigatory duties to carry out as a matter of course, within a reasonable time, following a report of serious crime? It seems clear that there needs to be significant improvement in the service delivered by the Guyana Police Force for Guyana to be truly safe for investment.
Editor, it is my view that police training should emphasize the literal meaning of the GPF motto “Service and Protection”. The impact of low morale upon police discipline and what is ultimately delivered to the public by police officers should not be underestimated. Today’s GPF is a service that has not yet demonstrated that it has the capacity to provide the Guyanese public with reliable “Service and Protection”. We now have the financial resources to make the necessary changes. What we still need is the genuine will to take the bold measures that will be necessary to facilitate any meaningful adjustment to how the GPF projects itself to the Guyanese public firstly and importantly also to potential international investors whom we warmly welcome.
Yours truly,
Ronald Bostwick
