Dear Editor,
Having just completed reading a book titled The Con Men: Hustling in New York City which is about how con artists use verbal persuasion, physical misdirection, and sheer charm to convince others to see and do things which they want them to, I could not help but see the similarity between the actions of the characters of this book and some of the operatives of the Georgetown municipality.
The Town Clerk of Georgetown, in a statement addressed to the Mayor and City Council (M&CC) stated that the City Police have “a legal and statutory duty to uphold and enforce the law, not to disrespect and break,” and as such asserted that “anyone who has chosen to disrespect, disregard and break the law is not worthy to be part of the City Constabulary.”
Which City Police Department is he talking about? The Georgetown City Constabulary which has allegedly been involved in innumerable scams over the years including bail money, disappearance of ammunition, sex scandals, uniform purchases, shaking down of vendors, harassing of businesspersons to name a few infractions? The Town Clerk could not be serious.
But he does admit that the City Constabulary is incapable of dealing with matters of a criminal nature, which according to the laws of Guyana must be dealt with by the Guyana Police Force (GPF), contrary to his earlier rantings that the City Constabulary is the oldest law enforcement service in Georgetown, and that it has the same power the national Police (GPF) has in the maintenance of law and order in this country.
I would hope that he would now stop having them perform guard duty at residences outside the limits of Georgetown, and performing bodyguard duties as he and the Mayor gallivants around the country.
It is time for the City Constabulary to be disbanded and its ranks absorbed into the Guyana Police Force where they could be better utilised. Already the GPF has had to take responsibility for the security of our capital, whilst the Constables spend their time chasing itinerant vendors.
The ramblings of the Town Clerk of Georgetown including that his actions were made to “preserve the good name and image” of the City Council and that the Council has an almost sacred duty to provide strong spiritual, moral and civic leadership, makes me ask the question whether he is just an arrogant administrator who imagines himself to be above scrutiny or is he suffering from episodes of psychosis which causes him to have false beliefs, and to see, hear and feel things that are not there?
Sincerely,
Nadine Jerrick
