Latest update February 14th, 2025 8:22 AM
Police Force has ‘zero tolerance’ for domestic violence, sexual offences
The Guyana Police Force (GPF) has a number of systems in place to deal with reported matters of domestic violence and sexual offences.
At least this is according to Superintendent of Police, Maxine Graham, who was at pains recently to point out that the Force, like any other organization, has procedures when dealing with such issues.
She was at the time making a presentation to the gathering at a Women and Gender Equality Commission Forum at the Regency Suites Hotel.
Supt. of Police, Maxine Graham
Superintendent Graham revealed that despite concerted efforts to undertake the matters in an efficient way, from time to time there are ranks who choose to deviate from the norm and place the organisation in a negative light. As such, she disclosed that “if by chance certain procedures are not followed we have disciplinary actions that are meted out to ranks.”
Disciplinary action becomes compulsory, according to Graham, because ranks from the inception of their career are enlightened of the various ways to deal with both domestic violence and sexual offence issues.
Graham stressed that dealing with such matters is not suddenly entrusted to ranks, but rather the Force has, as part of its curriculum for new ranks, courses on Domestic Violence, Human Rights and Sexual Offences.
“These are all outlined in the curriculum and as such they (new ranks) are taught what they have to do from the initial stage.”
This measure, she said, is complemented by the efforts of the Government to help improve the ability of ranks – a move which has been aided by the Citizens’ Security Programme. The latter strategy, she noted, has allowed for a great deal of modernisation within the Police Force.
Currently at least 16 police stations in Regions Four, Five and Six are undergoing modernisation measures which include the inclusion of special rooms to deal with domestic violence and sexual offence matters.
“When persons approach the police to make reports of these sorts, instead of dealing with them in the open office there are these special rooms where reports can be made privately, and whatever is told to the ranks should be in confidence,” Graham asserted.
Female officers are strategically attached to these rooms and they are trained to work in the designated units dealing with victims of sexual offences and/or domestic violence, she explained.
According to the officer, once a victim turns up at a station to make a report of such a nature they are directed to a particular unit (Sexual Offences or Domestic Violence).
“Even if a female victim goes to the enquiries office and the report is initially made there, that victim is immediately referred to the Domestic Violence Unit or to the Sexual Offences Unit where they will be able to make reports to female ranks where they may feel more comfortable.”
However, despite efforts to treat with the injuries of victims, first and foremost, Graham said that the Force has come in for some serious flak because “if you fail to take a statement from that victim and you send them off to the hospital, if it is a female you can be sure that they are not coming back…”
This state of affairs, Supt. Graham explained, has often translated to “the police not doing anything” when in fact “we have to be running behind them to come back and give us a statement in relation to that matter.”
According to Graham, the Force now has zero tolerance when it comes to domestic violence and sexual offences, thus efforts are made to ensure that as soon as victims come to the station a statement is submitted, providing that the victim in question is not too badly injured. At this point, she said, efforts are made to obtain a statement from victims while at the hospital.
“Domestic violence is a long story, I can go on and on, because some women would say that the men (often the abusers) are the only breadwinner and they don’t have any other support. They feel that without the male they cannot exist, but we know that is not so.
At times we have to instill in them that this is not the end of the world; he is not the last man and that police officers are here to help and guide them where certain issues are concerned.”
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