“Cooperate with the Police” – Traffic Chief tells public

…as confrontations between road users, cops increase

There having been an increase in confrontations between road users and the Police in regard to random stop-and-search exercises being conducted on persons and vehicles, the Police Traffic Chief, Senior Superintendent Ramesh Ashram, on Wednesday said the comments he had made in May during his appearance on the Guyana Police Force’s weekly radio programme “Police & You”, regarding ranks randomly stopping and searching vehicles, were taken out of context; and he is pleading with members of the public to cooperate with the Police.

During the programme in May, Ashram had said that ranks are not allowed to randomly stop and search persons, unless there is reasonable suspicion.
“Since my assumption as Traffic [Chief] in August 2020, my policy is clear and that of the Force: ranks are being instructed – traffic ranks – not to stop drivers and check for documents; not to arrest persons for minor offences. Take [their] name and address and proceed by the way of summons. If the offence warrants a ticket, issue a ticket. And if you breach these simple SOPs, the standard operating procedure of the Force, you will be dealt with for disobeying the lawful orders,” Ashram had stated during the programme.
However, Ashram has explained that his words were taken out of context, and he has since clarified that he had called on Police officers not to check for documents during peak hours, but to allow for the free flow of traffic.
Peak hours are between 07:00 (7am) and 09:00h (9am) and between 14:00h (2:00pm) and 18:00h (6pm).
Further, the Traffic Chief is urging persons to cooperate with the Police. He has said “If the Police ask you [there] to produce your documents, which they are covered under (section) 16:01 (of the Traffic Act), you have to produce. The law is clear…when you are required by a Police constable or by any other member of the Force to produce a driver’s licence, you have to do so on demand. It’s an offence if you fail to produce it.”
Moreover, while pleading with the public to cooperate with the Police, Ashram said that if a member of the public feels mistreated, a report should be made.
“I am appealing to members of the public, whether driver or pedestrian, and the public as a whole: cooperate with the Police, listen to the Police…if you tell yourself at a stop or roadblock you were treated (unfairly), you can take that rank’s number and name, report to the superior, and action would be taken,” he said.