CORRUPTION AND ROGUE COPS

Aug 19, 2018 Editorial

Recently there have been a number of serious crimes and other illegal activities purportedly being committed and in some cases being proven to have been carried out against the public, by members of the police force, whose mandate is to serve and protect the people.
The fact that ranks have been caught trafficking marijuana and cocaine, charged with fraudulent behaviour in driver’s licence examinations, arraigned for murder, and accepting bribes from errant drivers in exchange for not issuing traffic tickets, clearly shows that we have a disorderly police force.
Police corruption is a form of misconduct in which law enforcement officers have violated their oath and code of conduct and abused their power for personal monetary gain or any other type of personal benefit gained illegally as a result of the officer’s position or authority. This type of corruption may involve one or a group of officers.
It is a betrayal of public trust, departmental policies and human rights. It involves soliciting or accepting bribes in exchange for not reporting a crime, the selling of drugs, the theft of money from drug dealers, assaults, fabricated arrests, issuing false reports and falsifying evidence in order to secure convictions of civilians and suspects, stolen goods which officers have access to through their investigations, and ticket fixing by accepting bribe to cancel or not issue traffic tickets to drivers who violated the road ordinances.
It has been known for years that corruption is endemic in the police force from the highest to the lowest level. The massive driver’s license examination scam that was unearthed last April is a classic case of police corruption in the country.
Due to the lack of data, it is not possible to measure the level of corruption in the police force, thus the true scale is anybody’s guess. Despite this limitation, the public believe that police corruption is a widespread problem.
The prevalence of police corruption in Guyana has somehow become the norm rather than the exception and may even be institutionalized. There is a code of silence among police officers that prevents many corrupt acts from coming to light – it discourages officers from reporting the misconduct of other officers. Due to the existing culture, many officers are willing to tolerate corrupt behaviour rather than expose their colleagues.
Studies have pointed to the rotten apple theory which shows that most corruption stems from just a few dishonest or unethical officers, but the entire force is branded as corrupt due to the actions of just a handful of officers. However, many believe that police corruption is not just limited to a few rotten police officers as suggested. One of the reasons put forth for police corruption is that many policemen are underpaid and desperately in need of extra money to survive, and also because they have easy access to money – such as that seized from the sale of illegal drugs – or the means to get it without too much scrutiny, such as when there are massive drug busts.
It is without a doubt that corruption has damaged the image of the police force, eroded its morale and undermined the public trust and confidence in law enforcement. The actions of too many of the ranks have caused crime and organized gangs to flourish in society. It is common knowledge that a properly functional, effective and disciplined police force is needed more than ever to curb crime in the country. The prospects for a sustainable reduction of crime in the future will depend on whether the issue of corruption by rogue cops is effectively addressed.

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