Govt.’s security sector approach below par…Nandlall offers recommendations to Ramjattan

Jul 22, 2018 News

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Former Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, is disappointed with the government’s overall approach to the security sector.
In his most recent writings, he reminded that the last time the Government spoke of a crime fighting plan was nearly three years ago. But since then, the state of affairs only seems to be getting worse.

Nandlall reminded too, that Minister of Public Security, Khemraj Ramjattan, had informed the nation that the Government was in the process of acquiring horses and dogs to boost the Police Force’s crime fighting capacity. Nandlall said that this is yet to be seen.
He said, “When one adds to this equation two of the largest prison fires in the English-speaking Caribbean resulting in the death of at least 18 prisoners and a prison break from which nearly a dozen prisoners escaped – all occurring just over a year, it forms a formidable basis for the removal of the subject Minister.”
Since there has been no new initiatives emanating from the Government, which are designed to tackle the crime situation, Nandlall has offered a few recommendations of his own.
The former Attorney General said that there is a need for immediate statutory reforms specifically designed to increase the severity of penalties in relation to crimes of violence, robberies, break and enter, and burglaries.
He said that Ramjattan should work on comprehensive sentencing guidelines with an emphasis on mandatory custodial sentences and against the imposition of concurrent sentences for all offences for example robberies, break and enter burglaries, etc.
The enactment of a Bail Act, which permits the granting of bail in respect of the aforementioned offences, only in exceptional circumstances, was also recommended by Nandlall.
He said, too, that branch offices of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) should be established in the counties of Berbice and Essequibo to be manned by an Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions and State Prosecutors, preferably from that county. Nandlall opined that these persons can advise on matters within the County in consultation with the DPP in Georgetown.
He stressed the importance of ensuring that there is a Commander of each Division equipped with a legal advisor resident within the Division. Nandlall said that the advisor should function under the supervision of the Senior Legal Advisor to the Police Force stationed in Georgetown and in collaboration with the nearest office of the DPP.
Another one of his recommendations highlighted the fact that the Guyana Police Force is under strength by over 1000 persons. He pointed out that this has been so for the longest while.
“Yet, there are more than a thousand trained Police Officers within the Force who are performing non-police functions. These Officers should be transferred to active duty. For example, the drivers, the dispatchers, the messengers, the secretaries, the clerks, the office assistants, even the persons who feed and bathe the horses and dogs are all trained Police Officers. These functions can easily be performed by civilians.”

Concomitantly, Nandlall said that the entire Immigration Department is manned by Police Officers. He opined that there is no good reason why the Immigration Department cannot be disengaged from the Guyana Police Force and staffed with civilians.
He said that this should also apply to the Department which issues Certificates of Fitness, driver’s licence and indeed the entire administrative machinery of the Police Force (for example Accounts Department etc.).
Nandlall said, “These are all civilian functions which can be performed by civilians rather than trained police officers. Indeed, so it is done, in most countries. So within the Force itself, one can easily find sufficient human resources to bring the Force up to strength, immediately.
All these trained police officers who perform non-policing functions should be incorporated into active duty in the Police Force and be unleashed in the battle against crime.”
As for the matter of roadblocks, Nandlall said that these should only be erected when a particular emergency requires. He asserted that Traffic Police randomly stopping road users capriciously and then embarking on a fishing expedition to establish whether they have committed an offence, at roadblocks and elsewhere, is absolutely unlawful, unconstitutional, constitutes harassment and is an exercise used to extract money from road users.
With regard to the facilities at Police Stations, Nandlall said that these must be improved. He said that simple facilities, like more telephone lines, should be installed. The former Minister opined that police station numbers should be posted at conspicuous places within the communities and each station must be equipped with the ability to attend to calls and reports made in a timely fashion.
He opined as well that the 911 emergency call system must function efficiently 24 hours a day.
Nandlall noted that the aforementioned recommendations will not constitute an undue burden on the Treasury.
The former Minister said, “In any event, the Guyana Revenue Authority has surpassed its target for revenue collection for this half of the year by $40 billion. The implementation of these recommendations will cost a mere fraction of that sum.
“I am aware that my critics will ask, and perhaps rightfully so, why were these reforms not implemented under the PPP administration. Some had begun, but I will concede, more should have been done.”
In any event, Nandlall said that nothing is stopping the Government from fully implementing them and taking the credit. ”After all, it is their time now.”

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