Urgent, radical reform needed in Guyana Police Force

Dear Editor,
The Guyana Police Force (GPF) has perpetually been labelled as an incompetent, corrupt, and ineffective organisation by many Guyanese in Guyana and the diaspora. They claim that its motto, ‘To serve and protect’, seemingly applies only to the rich and powerful in the country, and not to the poor and the powerless in the country.
For the poor, the motto means arrests, beatings, and issuing false statements to obtain convictions against those who have been arrested for allegedly committed a crime.
Many in the public have contended that some in the GPF are rotten to the core, in that they have not lived up even to their expectations, which is to be fair in the execution of their duties. Several reports from the media have indicated that the Police would obtain false confessions due to coercion and beatings of alleged criminals, many of whom have been convicted and imprisoned.
Studies have shown that approximately 30 percent of the current prison population is innocent, but there is no re-examination of cases in Guyana, which could reverse the convictions. In the United States, Canada, and other developed countries, many cases are re-examined daily, and thousands of prisoners who were imprisoned wrongfully are set free. To date, in the United States, more than 5,200 prisoners have been set free in the last decade.
A cursory examination of the GPF revealed that it needs a comprehensive reorganisation, but Governments past and present have refused to make the necessary changes in the GPF to make it more efficient and effective in solving the glaring crimes in the country. This has created a security dilemma for the citizens, who are caught between a rock and a hard place, in that they do not trust the GPF, and they fear being robbed by fleeing bandits on motorcycles.
Some have labelled the GPF as a corrupt and unprofessional organisation; others have expressed the view that it is oppressive, especially against the poor. Efforts by Governments to reform the GPF have largely failed mainly because it has been alleged that some of its senior members have aided and abetted many rogue cops.
Presently, several senior officers of the force have been charged for allegedly defrauding the state of millions of dollars.
The US State Department, in its annual Human Rights report in 2018, fingered the Police Force as an abuser of the people’s rights, and the Judiciary for lengthy delays in trials and prosecution. According to the report, both the Police and the Judiciary are in violation of the human rights of people. This is regrettable, shameful, and deplorable.
In 2020, the US State Department’s Country Report on Human Rights Practices in Guyana had found that the ranks of the Guyana Police Force are frequently engaged in acts of brutality and corruption — a practice that has tainted not only the country’s Police Force, but also the country’s image. Additionally, the report noted that, in Guyana, the law recognises the right of individuals to be treated fairly, irrespective of the crime they may or may not have committed. Small wonder why there is widespread public perception that the Police Force at all levels is constituted of unprofessional, corrupt, and incompetent individuals.
There is no place in civilised society for such behaviour by the GPF, and the public should not tolerate such cruel and inhumane treatment. It is time for the administration to radically reform the Force, in order to change its behaviour, so that the poor in Guyana should not suffer at the hands of the GPF. It is now unbearable.
Guyana needs a proactive Police Force, and not one that is reactive, to solve the increasing number of crimes. Many have claimed that the GPF rarely does arrest the rich and powerful in the country. They do not traverse the wealthy localities and arrest anyone, which suggests that Guyana has a two-tier policing system — one for the rich and powerful, and the other for the poor and the powerless. Such discrimination is considered a travesty of justice.

Sincerely,
Leyland Roopnarine