Home Affairs Minister condemns police corruption, urges immediate action

Home Affairs Minister, Robeson Benn on Tuesday denounced the practice of police extortion, urging law enforcement officers to uphold their duty with integrity and intervene promptly to prevent situations from escalating.
Speaking at a recent event, Benn emphasised the importance of maintaining public trust and ensuring that officers do not exploit their positions for personal gain.
“Police must help people, police must not extort people. Police must not wait for things to build up, get worse, and then intervene, only to find people in a situation where they have to pay money, where they have to pay bribes,” he declared.
The minister’s comments come in response to increasing public concerns about police corruption and the detrimental impact it has on community relations. Numerous reports have surfaced regarding officers demanding bribes in exchange for leniency or expedited services, creating a culture of fear and mistrust among citizens.
Benn outlined a series of measures aimed at curbing these unethical practices and restoring confidence in the police force. He called for stricter oversight and professionalism.
“This must stop. The police commanders and others who find themselves in authority must not think that arriving at the job, they need to reward themselves and to walk around with plenty of gold and diamonds around their necks and fingers…,” he said.
The minister reiterated that the police stations should be a welcoming place and a place of safety for all.
“If I go to the washrooms, it must be clean… we should not face criticism. The standards and the personal things we want for ourselves are those that may occur to the people who pay our taxes. We don’t have any reason to have any low, dirty… we need to pull ourselves up in relation to how we view ourselves and our people,” the minister said.

Complaints of lack of police help
Two days ago, the families of Troy Anthony Joseph, 35, and Cranston Davidson, 43, were desperately searching for the two men following a tragic boat collision on July 5 in the Mazaruni River near BK Quarries Inc. The families claimed that there was no help from the police in their search efforts.
The families claimed that since the accident, they had been searching for the men and had called on the police for help. It was only after Guyana Times published the article on Monday that police ranks and an officer from the Maritime Administration (MARAD) joined family members in the search. (G9)