Expect change in sizes of police divisions – Harmon

Sep 08, 2017 News

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A recently completed report into an alleged assassination plot against President David Granger has recommended reforms in the Police Force. Among the changes that can be expected are possibly smaller and more divisions

being created to make the force more effective in its crime-fighting.
The disclosure was made yesterday by Minister of State, Joseph Harmon, during the post-Cabinet press briefing.
Harmon was being questioned about the recent Commission of Inquiry (CoI) report which was handed over by Commissioner Paul Slowe. The CoI was ordered after a taxi service owner from Diamond, East Bank Demerara, Andriff Gillard, complained to the media that police were not being serious about a complaint he had filed on a plot to kill President Granger.
He had accused a next door neighbour, businessman, Nizam Khan, of offering him $7M to kill Granger in 2015. This was after he asked Khan to borrow $6M.
From testimonies, it appeared that top police officials did not take the matter seriously and even released the businessman on bail, hours after he was held.
The administration appeared to be taking seriously, lapses in procedure, and what also seemed like interference from one senior cop in the investigations.
In July, the President reportedly asked the independent Police Service Commission to halt promotions for ranks until further direction.
Recently, after an illegally-landed plane was discovered in Region Nine sparking worry by the administration, President Granger travelled to Lethem, where he warned army officials and police ranks that he was treating the matter as one of national security. It was reported that the police stationed there were ordered removed.
According to Harmon yesterday, in August, the life of the Police Service Commission and the Public Service Commission ended, with the process for new nominees started.
The Government will have to name some nominees, while a Parliamentary Select Committee will have to do the rest, in keeping with the requirements of the Constitution, Harmon explained.
The Minister of State disclosed that the CoI report recommends “certain reforms” which should see some input from the British advisor on security sector reform.
The CoI report will be made public, he said.
Among some of the areas that the administration is looking at is reducing the size of some of the divisions.
For example, one Police Commander has responsibilities spanning four regions – One, Seven, Eight and Nine.
The Government is thinking of placing senior cops in the various administration regions, instead of having commanders covering a huge area.
According to Harmon, the current system of police divisions is more than a century old and no longer supports the growing realities of demographic changes, among other things.
It has been known that police and even soldiers were running rackets in border areas, even providing protection to gun-runners and fuel smugglers.
President Granger last week noted that CoIs are important since they help to uncover the truth and to correct malpractice and abuses in the system.
”I think the Office of the President is one that should enjoy the protection of the security services, and any reports of threats or any risks to the President’s life or immediate relatives of the President, such as the First Lady or the President’s children, deserve to be properly and thoroughly investigated. It is about ensuring that the President is safe and if there are any threats to that safety then it should be investigated,” he said.
The Commission’s Terms of Reference had included investigating and reviewing the full range of the actions and responses of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) to the reports and the extent to which such actions were conducted or executed with due diligence.
It was also asked to determine whether any person, and, in particular, officers of the GPF, had information before and after the reports were made of the alleged assassination plot and whether that information was communicated to any superior authority; and report on what official action was taken on information received, and if there was due diligence by GPF officers in the investigation.
Additionally, it was tasked with reviewing all actions taken by the GPF and examining whether there was “failure, neglect or omission to thoroughly and properly investigate” and to determine whether this was intentional. It was to also determine the “blameworthiness for failure or neglect of officers or persons involved in the investigation” and to recommend action to be taken against anyone found culpable, as well as to recommend steps that can be taken to prevent a recurrence.

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