Benn to appoint Inspector General as $60M lock-ups commissioned

— says IG will ensure stations are up to par

Home Affairs Minister Robeson Benn on Wednesday commissioned the spanking new $60 million lock-ups in the compound of the Brickdam Police Station.
The new facility has the capacity to hold 52 prisoners at one time.

During the handing-over ceremony, Minister Benn stated that the facility was built as part of the Guyana Police Force’s mandate to treat detained persons humanely.
“We should not continue to have situations where we offer these people a brutalising experience for prisoners, that we demeanour, vow with respect to service and protection to the Guyanese public,” Minister Benn said.
Engaging the public with respect while they are detained is what defines the quality of service of the Force, the Minister said.
“Where we have to house people in the Police Stations, it should be respectful; it should be professional and it should be of a standard that is acceptable not only here in Guyana but internationally,” the Minister underscored.
Minister Benn further stated that the commissioning of the lock-ups was the beginning of a new chapter for the Force. As such, he expects that all stations will be kept tidy, and the language and manner of officers, both among themselves and when interacting with the public, will be respectful.
Benn added that he was soon to appoint an Inspector General to the Force, whose job would be to ensure that stations were up to par.
The Inspector General will be responsible for ensuring that “at all levels in respect of accommodation, conduct of our Policemen, remind them of the training which they have received and to remind them of the standards which the public, who pay the taxes, [are due], that they are treated in a respectful manner and that they feel proud of us,” Benn said.
Meanwhile, acting Police Commissioner Nigel Hoppie says the Force serves merely as a custodian of offenders while investigations are ongoing or while they await an appearance in court. To this end, the Top Cop said the Force “has an implicit responsibility to treat every suspect as innocent until proven guilty, which means that the procedures employed and holding facility used must be in compliance with the required standards”.