224 ranks cut ties with the Police Force in 2019 – AG Report

The 2019 Auditor General’s report has revealed that 224 ranks severed employment with the Guyana Police Force (GPF) for various reasons during the reporting year. While these reasons were not outlined in the report, rogue elements have always been an issue with the Police Force for the past years.
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.
Recently, Police Constable Troy Munroe was charged with manslaughter, and released on $150,000 bail over the July 25, 2020, fatal shooting of an unarmed man, 39-year-old Cecil Sampat. The incident occurred at Durban Street, Georgetown.
Another Police constable, Simion Alder, was charged with three counts of causing death by dangerous driving. He was reportedly under the influence of alcohol when he crashed the motorcar he was driving, instantly killing three persons, including a Guyana Defence Force rank.
The 21-year-old Police rank was granted $300,000 bail. The deadly crash happened in August 2020 at Whim Public Road, Corentyne, Berbice.
In its 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 remains, “a widespread public perception of corruption involving officials at all levels, including the Police and the Judiciary.”
Meanwhile, members of the Guyana Police Force are currently partaking in a job satisfaction survey. The survey is 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.
To improve the services provided by the Police Force, the Home Affairs Ministry has launched the Public Trust, Confidence and Satisfaction survey, which is intended to determine citizens’ satisfaction and confidence with policing services.
According to the Ministry, the survey will also determine if citizens who have interacted with law enforcement officers within the last 12 months were treated fairly and with dignity during their interactions. The survey will close on January 2, 2021.