During his address to the Guyana Police Force’s (GPF’s) 179th Anniversary Awards Ceremony, Police Commissioner (ag) David Ramnarine had some tough words for ranks, some of whom are bent on operating in the most reckless and unprofessional manner. The Commissioner was of course referring to the numerous examples of officers being involved in road accidents, resulting in serious damage to the GPF’s vehicles and, more importantly, causing the public to lose trust in the work of the organisation.
During his address, Ramnarine disclosed that from July 2016 to June 2017, eighteen members of the Force were involved in various categories of accidents while driving GPF’s vehicles. This compares to an increase of 23 ranks involved in accidents during the period July 2017 to June 2018. A total of 41 ranks, including seven subordinate officers and 34 constables [were fingered in these accidents]. Add this to another 18 ranks, over the two-year period, being involved in various accidents while driving private vehicles. Ranks involved in these accidents have been made to pay over G$2.3 million for damaging the Force’s vehicles thus far this year.
Ramnarine was quoted in the media as saying: “The occurrences cannot be ones that we are satisfied with. We have taken an oath, we are here in uniforms, we have higher learning and training; and therefore we must conduct ourselves a lot better than we do”.
In reminding members of the Force that road regulations are applicable to all road users, Ramnarine warned that the GPF will no longer tolerate such reprehensible and disrespectful behaviour from ranks who continue to breach road rules and traffic regulations.
As it relates to ranks driving around in tinted vehicles, the Traffic Department had started a drive to remove the tint from vehicles belonging to Police Officers and those used in patrols. However, there are still some bent on breaking the laws. We had said before that the law should apply to everyone, irrespective of their status, except in cases where the chief licensing authority grants an exemption and in a few other special cases. As it currently stands, only certain vehicles are permitted to have tints without the expressed permission of the Public Security Minister. These include diplomatic vehicles and those belonging to senior Government and high-ranking military officials.
One could understand the reason for the Commissioner adopting a no-nonsense approach to the matter, considering that the issue of unprofessional conduct of ranks and corruption in general within the Force are nothing new. Previous Commissioners, Government officials, and even most recently President David Granger, had brought the issue to the fore with the hope that the necessary measures would be put in place that would seek to ensure that ranks maintain high professional standards.
While we do not intend to paint the entire Police Force with the same brush, as there are many professional and honest officers within the Force, we are convinced that unless what is perceived as the endemic corruption in the organisation, and the traffic section in particular, is addressed in a holistic manner, efforts being made to rebuild public trust and to reform the Police Force in general will not achieve the desired results.
The GPF’s Office of Professional Responsibility and the Police Complaints Authority need to be more proactive in ensuring that complaints brought by members of the public and other stakeholders are acted upon in an effective and efficient manner. The necessary disciplinary action must be taken against ranks who are found to be breaching their oath and the laws of the country as a whole.
We had stated before that the Police must lead by example. If they want to win the public’s trust, they must be seen as having integrity and decency. They must engage in serious introspection, and monitor themselves to ensure they, too, are held to higher standards. Police officers cannot be seen as breaking the same laws they expect the public to abide by. It is well accepted that the success of any organisation depends on the integrity of its officials.
The tough warning by Ramnarine, and the fact that ranks are made to repay for the damage to vehicles would certainly send a strong message to ranks that they would not be able to get a free ride anymore.
