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Understanding the Government’s position on the Police Force

May 02, 2017 Letters

Dear Editor,
The majority of the Guyanese populace distrusts the police. They are of the view that the police cannot be trusted to investigate any incident much less the alleged attempted plot to assassinate the President. Most Guyanese, who are concerned about this issue, especially since there is a view that the police are involved, do not think that the government should trust the Guyana Police Force to investigate this matter.
The reality is that the Guyana Police Force is the entity that should be investigating this matter. The Government of the day has to give the Guyana Police Force which is one of the security arms of the state the benefit of the doubt as it relates to matters of security. While the perception may be that the Police Force is in alignment with the opposition it would be counterproductive for this administration to pick a public fight with the Guyana Police Force. The previous administration used elements in the Police Force to carry out its dirty work.
The previous administration hindered the Guyana Police Force from doing their jobs by interfering in cases and investigations that involved their friends and associates. This entire country that grew up under the stewardship of the PPP learnt how to do everything wrong. We learnt that corruption was good, we learnt that morals and values were not needed and we learnt that integrity, accountability, and transparency were not necessary when in public office.  The Guyana Police Force having been a part of the society that was stewarded by an administration whose interest was serve self first, like the rest of society inculcated some of those negative traits.
The question now is how do we as a society self-wean off of those negative habits that have been reinforced for 20 years. The Guyana Police Force has to be allowed to self-wean. It has to be allowed to recognize that the new stewards are not interested in the ways and means of the past administration. It has to be allowed to reconfigure itself into becoming a Force that the citizens of this country respect. It is my view that the Government recognizes that the Police Force has to be allowed to recognize that we are in a different place today and if the Police Force is to self-wean and become an organization that the people trust it must know where the Government stands and how the government views them.
I drove around the city last week and I recognized all of the buildings being occupied by the Guyana Police Force are being renovated. Over the last few weeks the Minister of State informed the public that Police from different ranks will be going on various capacity building workshops in various countries. This I believe is a forthright attempt by this administration to help the Police Force recognize that this administration’s priority is that the Guyana Police Force becomes a professional entity that can do the job that it is mandated to do without political interference and with the confidence of this administration. While I do agree that the police have over time caused the distrust that exists between them and the citizenry, we need to at this time recognize that they need to be given an opportunity to self-wean.
Tabitha Sarabo-Halley 

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