SOCU staff debunk toxicity in the workplace

There have been reports circulating that ranks and staff attached to the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) are working in a toxic environment. Accordingly, staff of the Special Organised Crime Unit have come forward to challenge these inaccuracies being peddled in the public domain.
The Guyana Police Force’s Communications Unit, in a missive on Thursday, has said that after a one-on-one exercise conducted with ranks and staff members of SOCU, what has emerged is that they were all in praise of the professionalism and high code of ethics obtained within the SOCU.
“Several were in agreement that, had they known what obtains, they would have requested to be seconded to the Unit earlier, as they noted management is inclusive and takes into consideration their many personal issues before making decisions that can impact them,” the release added.
SOCU staff have further revealed that the Head of the Unit, Superintendent Fazil Karimbaksh, encourages spirited debate and facilitates differences of opinion/views while demanding professionalism and integrity in their work conduct.
Of the 27 persons quizzed, only one intimated a wish to be transferred from the Unit, as the workload was very demanding; but, more importantly, that person has eyes set on another department, where it is believed that that person’s skills would be better utilised.
As the SOCU continues to investigate various matters of national importance, there have been several allegations levelled at the Unit, and in particular its head, in attempts to discredit the Unit.
Staff are insistent that these allegations are simply not true, and have pointed to the various training opportunities, both locally and internationally, to which they have all been exposed, which impacts their investigative and prosecutorial skills in fighting organised crime.
SOCU was established in 2014 on the recommendation of the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) and was intended to be a police unit operating under the authority of the Police Commissioner but with a close relationship to the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU). Its sole purpose was to investigate money laundering and the financing of terrorism under the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing for Terrorism (AMLCFT) Act.