Zero tolerance

For some time now there has been an increase in press reports and viral social media videos/posts about confrontations between citizens and ranks of the Guyana Police Force.
This situation has escalated to an unprecedented level of disrespect and disregard for law enforcement officers.
The most recent of such attacks was by a businessman, who incidentally was arrested while trying to flee the country after assaulting a Police Constable.
In this instance, both the businessman and the person who assisted him in assaulting the cop have been remanded to prison. At the time, the on-duty Policeman was enforcing the law as the businessman was in breach of traffic laws.
The prevalence of assaulting a Police Officer is getting out of control, and a strong message needs to be sent to those who assault and attack cops. In the present instance, the Magistrate must be commended for refusing bail to the defendants.
Over the past year or so, there has been growing concern expressed about assaults on peace officers.
Only days ago, Commissioner of Police (ag), Clifton Hicken, in commenting on the issue of increasing attacks on Police Officers in the execution of their duties, said a zero-tolerance policy has been adopted.
In a statement coming out of Police Headquarters, it was revealed that Hicken has expressed outrage at the assault of cops and said this behaviour would not be tolerated.
On the matter of lawlessness towards the Police, Attorney General Anil Nandlall, SC, who had acknowledged that while there is a lot of work to be done to repair its image as well as improve the professionalism and discipline of its ranks, the Guyana Police Force is the premier law enforcement agency in Guyana, and such actions against it cannot be condoned.
The Attorney General had made this statement after a cutlass-toting driver attacked a Policeman. “They may be bad, but it is what we have, and we cannot encourage citizens taking up arms against the law enforcement agencies. This type of conduct must be deprecated, condemned in the strongest possible fashion. When this happens, you’re striking at the very heart of Guyana as a civilised society. When the population is resisting and assaulting the law enforcement agencies, that is a serious thing.”
Like the Motor Vehicle and Road Traffic (Amendment) Bill 2022, which is aimed at toughening existing laws to prevent drunk driving and the carnage on the roadways, maybe it is time that we start to examine the possibility of implementing legislation that will see a sentencing framework which deals with perpetrators convicted of assault against public officers more harshly than those convicted of similar assaults against other individuals. Such penalty enhancements or mandatory minimum sentencing schemes for assaults against public officers may be a way to send the needed message to members of the public who are most strangely empowered to commit such acts.
To do this is easily justifiable, since law enforcement officers provide a service to others when carrying out their sworn duty to serve and protect while at risk to themselves, and this aggravates the seriousness of the offence. This must be done with two aims: deterrence, and condemnation and denunciation.
Despite the attacks on Police, most of which have occurred while they are enforcing traffic laws, it is imperative that the Police sustain their crackdown to curb the blatant breach of traffic laws, including road service licences, overloading, loud music, and disorderly behaviour by citizens.