Thirteen officers from the Guyana Police Force (GPF) were accused of committing criminal conduct within the last quarter of 2020.
Home Affairs Minister, Robeson Benn
These statistics were revealed by Home Affairs Minister Robeson Benn on Thursday, as he submitted written responses to questions posed by Opposition Member of Parliament, Geeta Chandan-Edmond.
The figures showed that another 22 ranks were found in breach of disciplinary guidelines under various codes of conduct that guide the operation of the Force during this same period.
To this end, Minister Benn reported that case files were sent for legal proceedings to be undertaken in the courts. The administrative action files were sent to Commanders of the respective departments for these defaulters to be sanctioned.
The 2019 Auditor General’s Report had revealed last December that 224 ranks had severed their employment with the GPF for various reasons during the reporting year. While these reasons were not outlined in the report, rogue elements have always been an issue within the Police Force.
For the year 2020, several Police ranks were placed before the courts for offences such as narcotics smuggling, assault, corrupt transactions, rape, manslaughter, and causing death by dangerous driving. Most times, ranks with pending court matters are interdicted. Some of them are also charged departmentally.
In a recent report on Guyana’s human rights record, the US State Department noted that corruption by Police Officers was frequent. In fact, the report found that there remained “a widespread public perception of corruption involving officials at all levels, including the Police and the Judiciary”.
In November 2020, an audit of the GPF revealed that over 150 firearms had vanished from Police custody under the previous A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Government. It is understood that these weapons were either seized from criminals and were to be exhibits in cases, or firearms lodged by private citizens.
In the past, guns that have gone missing from the hands of the Joint Services have subsequently been linked to criminal activities. During the 2018 Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into the Lindo Creek Massacre, it was revealed that a number of weapons and ammunition which were stolen in February 2006 were later used in the commission of various crimes.
To improve the services provided by the Police Force, the Home Affairs Ministry last month wrapped up the Public Trust, Confidence and Satisfaction Survey, which was intended to determine citizens’ satisfaction with, and confidence in, policing services. It will reveal if citizens who interacted with law enforcement officers within the last 12 months were treated fairly and with dignity during their interactions.
Meanwhile, members of the Force were engaged in a job satisfaction survey – created to determine the level of performance, job satisfaction, leadership, and communication of the law enforcement body.
“We propose to determine the level of satisfaction of the employees in the workplace, and what are the probable measures to be taken based on the responses to the survey. This is important to identify resorts to motivate higher performance as we seek to maintain law and order in Guyana. We support the view that it is crucial to retain an effective and proficient workforce as critical to the institution’s performance,” the GPF had stated in a release to the media. (G12)
