More accusations against the police

Sep 05, 2016 Letters

Dear Editor;
Because of the factual import of my letter, I am sending it to all our print media so that, hopefully, it can reach wide readership. What appears hereunder is a microcosm of what happens in the wider Guyana. That cannot be in dispute. It should not be a matter for debate that ordinary, unconnected and law-abiding citizens of this country experience nightmares at the hands of many in the Guyana Police Force.
My position is justified based on the number of cases of shakedowns exposed in the media and from what is heard around the country. And, notwithstanding that so many police ranks have been taken before the court and /or have been fired from the Force, many policemen and police women continue to press persons for a “raise”, and even more frontally: “I gotta put you pun bail, so see wha’ yuh can do.” Or, if you are a complainant, your day is done at the station because of the way the police go about their work. That a raise “can speed up things” is an unmistakable message.
I travel around this country because of the nature of my job. I also do most of my grocery shopping in Enmore, my neighbouring village. Of recent, two matters were brought to my attention while I was shopping. In the first one, a resident had his bicycle stolen by a known thief. The police arrested the suspect after much begging by the complainant. The suspect confessed to stealing the bicycle. The complainant claims that he had already gone to the Enmore Police Station on more than five occasions and each time he spent more than two hours being questioned. In the initial stages, the complainant was told to get a taxi and go find the suspect and bring him in.
That matter is still pending, awaiting a witness to go to the station to give a statement. What is the job of the police? Not to do the investigation and get statements? Or are they fat-cats? Secondly, a more recent matter is before the Enmore Police involving another known thief; this time of fruits and cash from a house. The thief was arrested by the complainant and some relatives and taken to the Enmore Police Station.
In the presence of the police at the station and in the station, the suspect threatened to kill the persons who effected the arrest. The complainant claims to feeling pressured by the police by the long hours being kept at the station and one of the arresting persons being put on bail. I overheard a group of residents planning to picket the Enmore Police Station and inviting TV Stations and the Press. Not a bad idea to bring focus on the growing number of recalcitrants in the Police Force!
Charles Selman

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