Judicial system making mockery of Police efforts – Ramnarine

Acting Commissioner of Police David Ramnarine blasted the judicial system, saying that efforts of the Guyana Police Force are in vain since perpetrators of serious crimes are often granted bail by the courts.

Speaking at a press conference Saturday, a passionate Ramnarine explained that in law enforcement, one of the major challenges it is faced with, is when persons are charged and placed before the courts, specifically for possession of illegal guns and ammunition, they are being granted bail. This, he noted, is a serious deterrent to their effort in crime fighting.
“I have maintained that the Police Force is but a microcosm of the wider society; we are one element of the criminal justice system and we do our level best. I cannot answer and will not take responsibility for the behaviour of other people who constitute and have a role to play in the other elements in the criminal justice system. I can only defend our actions in the Police Force and lay our side of the story in the public domain,”
The acting Top Cop pointed out that four defendants, who were charged in the recent past with unlawful possession of arms and ammunition are out on bail and in three of those cases, they were granted bail by the High Court while the other was granted by a magistrate.
“This is the reality of what we have to deal with and challenges we face in law enforcement… This is something that should be known so that right-thinking people can be concerned and have their say about the conduct of certain people in certain position,” Ramnarine posited.
Furthermore, the acting Commissioner went on to highlight a particular case where an individual was charged with unlawful possession of arms and ammunition back in May and granted bail. While on bail, that person was arrested and charged again, this time for simple larceny of an ATV vehicle valued over $3 million. He was again granted bail for this matter in the sum of $50,000.
“So he is out on bail for a serious crime and he is granted $50,000 bail for another serious crime the following month. This is the troubling part of it, because he is now the prime suspect in the robbery/murder of a Brazilian national in the interior and a firearm was used,” the Acting Police Commissioner decried.
Moreover, the interim Head of the Police Force pointed out that this situation is one that raises concern in the operation of the justice system: “Is this not something we should be alarmed about, something we should be concerned about? How can we be so insensitive in our dispensation in our granting of bail?”
Ramnarine went on to outline that persons in possession of illegal guns and ammunition had the opportunity to surrender their weapons during the gun amnesty programme but failed to do. To this end, he explained that “total disregard” and “careless” behaviour is displayed by those in the justice system when granting bail to such persons who intentionally missed the opportunity, mostly with unlawful intentions.
“These criminals did not surrender their illegal firearms, it’s clear, but are using them to terrorise and rob and to kill people. And the amount of bail granted in the court, makes a mockery of how responsible people in authority should behave in these matters,” he asserted.
Meanwhile, Ramnarine sought to reveal that from October 1 to 21, 2016, ten illegal firearms were seized by the Police, with two of them found on Friday night into Saturday morning.
He also commended efforts by A Division (Georgetown/East Bank Demerara) specifically as it relates to the raids at the night clubs which, he noted, will be ongoing. With regards to these raids, three illegal firearms were found.