Only scrutiny can enhance GPF’s professionalism

Jun 13, 2010 AFC Column, Features / Columnists

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(An excerpt from a presentation in 2003 by Khemraj Ramjattan)

Calls for the “pruning of all deadwood” from within and outside of the Administration at Home Affairs, inclusive of the Police Force have always been were met with such savage rebuffs by this Government, one is literally stunned, if not somewhat silenced.
Good and successful policing requires the Police to procure and preserve the confidence of the Public. A society which has little trust in its Police Force or is angered and disillusioned by policing policies will be reluctant to provide assistance in prevention and detection of crime.
My experiences in the Criminal Bar – both as Prosecutor and Defence Counsel – teach two lessons: that the proportion of crimes solved by the Police without help from members of the Public is negligible; and, that a partnership between the Police and the Public is the fabric out of which a stable secure society is weaved.
I want to posit, too, that the questioning and discussing of matters police and crime are not the exclusive preserve of the hierarchy of the Police Force or the Ministry of Home Affairs. But there is a fear of being scrutinized.
This fear of scrutiny and the adoption of an attitude of not wanting to be scrutinised is not an attribute unique only to the Guyana Police Force. Studies have revealed that many Police Forces in the Caribbean and Commonwealth detest and fight off interlopers treading into their territory and questioning their authority.
Especially urgently required then is the nurturing of an attitude of wanting to be scrutinized on the part of our Police Force. Its members, at both an individual and collective level, have huge powers. Unlike every other Guyanese, every policeman is a Guyanese authorized to make an on the spot, unilateral, irrevocable decision which can and, as has happened recently, do result in serious injury to or death of other Guyanese.
To be quite graphic about it, whenever one of them fires his gun the immediate consequence of his decision is realized at the rate of 800 (eight hundred) feet per second; and this consequence is irreviewable. Nothing can stop the destiny of that warhead; it cannot be recalled.
In a sense then, a policeman carries in his holster more power than a Chief Justice can ever imagine having. Our Chief Justice, as he would concede, can have his decision, or any action taken thereafter, recalled and reviewed. But for most of our Policemen, these possessors of this pure raw power, one of life and death, they do not have academic and training qualification and credentials anywhere close to those of a Chief Justice. Now even if I am being a little unfair here, I hope my point is not missed.
The consequences for us all, if matters go unaddressed, will be dire indeed. There must be public scrutiny to find out what the wrongs are at a larger systemic level, and in individual cases. So that whatever these wrongs are, they can be remedied. This approach signally will dispel unenlightened speculation and suspicions about the Force and its policemen. Obviously, new standards will be set and wherever these are not met, those not meeting them will not go unpunished; nor will such actions go unaccounted for.
Using the Force as an authoritarian enclave and sheltering under it must not be allowed these days. What days are here, or ought to be, are days where there must be an intense and rigorous supervision of the Police Force by both the Government and civilian agencies. Civilian oversight is mandatory because all Governments generally tend to go easy on their Police Force, or downright permit cover-ups occasionally. We must develop mechanisms for the systematic evaluation of the quality of police services, and from becoming a body immune from civilian oversight
But all of this can be put right if there is the initiation of and implementation of the Recommendations of the Disciplined Forces Report. Why it had to take seven years to be finalized is just amazing! Let us start a process of honest, thorough-going scrutiny, and thereafter an acceptance of responsibility wheresoever it falls, and move on. This protects the integrity of a vital institution of State, and enhances the image of those who govern.
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The slaying of Kelvin Fraser
The Alliance For Change extends sincere sympathy to the relatives and friends of the late Kelvin Fraser whose young life was so cruelly ended on Monday last. Words cannot adequately convey our thoughts at this time and we can only pray that, with time, the family will find a way to overcome this tragic loss.
We are alarmed at the increasingly frequent incidents of inexcusable brutality involving members of the disciplined forces. The fact that our citizens now live in fear of the very persons tasked with protecting them is a cause of concern among us. We are forced to conclude that this state of fear is one which suits the Government of Guyana, since they have made little effort to quell it.
The AFC believes that a major component of crime prevention is public trust in our law enforcement agencies, and that this trust no longer exists. We challenge the Minister of Home Affairs to deny this.
Rebuilding the trust between our citizens and our Guyana Police Force is a priority for the AFC. We recognize the importance of effective law enforcement to the well-being of our country and are troubled by the Government’s failure to deliver this.
Fear and intimidation have no place in a modern society and the AFC will expend every effort toward reversing this disturbing trend.

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