A wider probe is needed if there is to be public confidence in the leadership of the Force

Jun 28, 2019 Letters

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DEAR EDITOR,

It was bound to happen. Notwithstanding, the Commander in Chief’s pleadings that he wants incorruptible and unbribeable officers to lead the Guyana Police Force (GPF). Ironically, quite the opposite has transpired under his watch.
Senior ranks who are perceived to be politically favoured are prone to flaunt their political plumage while strutting the passageways at Force HQ knowing full well that the penalties inhered in the Standing Orders of the GPF and Police Disciplinary Act are applicable to them should they be found guilty of violating the rules.
Perception became reality when a coterie of five Deputy Commissioners was handpicked at the conclusion of a Commission of Inquiry held in July 2017.
The COI was established to address ostensibly, ‘serious deficiencies in the Guyana Police Force,’ in effect, the strategic objective was to weed out a number of officers considered unacceptable to the Granger-led administration.
The appointments by their very nature, came across as intimidatory. They sent a strong political signal to subordinate ranks, who in turn, began expressing serious trepidations over ways and means of executing their duties professionally, while at the same time not allowing themselves to be demotivated in doing so.
It was precisely in that environment, that subordinate ranks came to the realization that they would suffer unbearable consequences should they be unprepared to kowtow to illegal orders by those, over whose heads, rested politically inspired halos indicating their Most Politically Favoured (MPF) status in the GPF.
Experience has shown that in any public service institution, where some are perceived to be politically favoured over others, there is bound to be institutional turmoil, fueled by discriminatory practices by those incapable of handling the prestige of power.
In the case of the GPF, officers perceived to be politically favoured over those who were not, are known to take advantage of their superior status to the extent of abusing the powers vested in them within the meaning of the Police Act.
Few Guyanese would lose sleep over ‘breaking news’ revealing that a favoured senior rank in the GPF was ‘found in bed’ with a shady character known to be involved in criminal/corrupt activities.
Worse yet, in the context of an evolving police/civilian culture such revelations have come to be generally recognized as police/criminal concubineage.
And even though established on a prima facie basis, such revelations would, in the end, would bring the image of the GPF into disrepute.
It is as if living in a surreal world where, particularly in the case of law enforcement, this type of misbehaviour has become the norm, rather than the exception.
Once it is established that there are favoured and knowingly corrupt senior or subordinate ranks embedded in the Force, and who, because of their political connections, are considered ‘Holy Cows’ there will be no end to the corruption syndrome impacting the GPF.
But it is precisely this pretentious and sanctimonious predisposition on the part of those perceived to be politically favoured that feeds the incestuous inbreeding of corruption, disrespect and indiscipline within the GPF.
The end result is that these three infections tend to wend their way like a cancerous tumor from top to bottom of the institution resulting in the erosion of public confidence in the organization.
But the irony of the situation is reflected in the fact that while the public is prepared to repose its confidence in the GPF, at the same time it would not hesitate to withhold that confidence when confronted with scandals of the kind currently being investigated.
In the circumstances, the populace would argue and justifiable so that a chain is as strong as its weakest link.
This brings me to an important observation.
Mr. Clinton Conway a former Divisional commander and Head of the Felix Austin Police Training School, has a penchant for stepping out of his pavilion at the Police Service Commission to bat only on wickets where he would attempt to score runs politically.
In a recent letter published Conway sought to defend corruption in the police force by lecturing readers about the ‘complexities of corruption’. Conway may not be aware of it, but the thrust of his letter downplaying corruption by casting doubts about its practices, shows quite clearly why as a member of the PSC he would refuse to impugn corruption charges against one of his colleagues on the grounds that corruption is a complex matter as far as he is concerned.
Conway should try applying his corruption complexities logic to the corruption charges constantly leveled against members of the political opposition.
It is apposite to note that police forces/services around the world are beginning to embrace modernization and openness, thus shedding themselves of the image of a Masonic Lodge where openness and transparency is trumped by secrecy and opaqueness and the consistent refrain; ‘investigations are ongoing.’
Perhaps the most embarrassing aspect to this matter was the fact that the damaging expose from junior ranks at ‘B’ division caught the attention of the media. Suffice it to say, that junior police ranks tend to be bypassed and attract little or no respect from superior officers especially those perceived to be politically favoured.
As it turned out, Eve Leary mistakenly surmised that, after a few weeks, the story would subside and eventually disappear from the pages of the newspapers. They probably calculated, that the media would go after elections related stories rather than heeding the alarm bells sounded by the aggrieved ranks at ‘B’ division.
However, to the surprise and utter disdain of some members of the Police Service Commission (PSC) as well as the Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) the media persisted, it was not assuaged by constant assurances from Force Headquarters to the effect that; ‘the matter is being investigated.’
It was not until the government and the leadership of the Force were brought under the full glare of the public, that the Force’s failure to respond promptly and professionally was about to become a major scandal when it was announced that an investigation was being launched and the officer involved was directed to stand down.
It took persistent reporting on the part of media to jolt the subject minister out of his slumber and flush out those guilty of inertia before the prime suspect could be identified and hauled before the court of public opinion.
Incidentally, this is not the first time this particular officer came to the attention of the public. Earlier this year, a controversy arose over the date of his enlistment in the GPF and concomitantly, the date of his last working day which some say should have been on February 1, 2019.
The Minister of Public Security, not the PSC intervened in the matter defending the retention of the just appointed Deputy Commissioner (Crime).
Since the Crime Chief’s appointment, unwelcome changes have been effected regarding the stationing of Divisional Detective Officers (DDO’s) at ‘B’ Division.
The situation is compounded by the fact that an important police division as East Berbice is saddled with a Commander with years of experience as Head of the Immigration Department of the GPF while his deputy spent most of his life at the forensic laboratory of the Force.
Small wonder why Berbicians are under constant pressure by the criminal enterprise in that region.
Just as the ‘serious deficiencies’ in 2017 warranted a COI, in the same way the serious deficiencies at ‘B’ division need urgent, professional attention.
The situation in Berbice is further aggravated by allegations of police corruption and complicity with criminal elements.
Guyana’s history of criminality and criminology is replete with examples of this unsavory concubineage between elements of law enforcement and the lawless.
The cop who learns how to investigate narcotics trafficking learns how to deal drugs. The cop who investigates robberies knows how to commit them. The cop who learns how to investigate corruption learns how and from whom to solicit bribes.
And there is yet another dilemma. When a government helps their police develop and refine the capacities essential for their work, they are entrusting the police with enormous powers.
This is the dialect of police/civilian collaboration in promoting effective law enforcement.
The trouble comes when the political directorate chooses police ranks based on pledges of political support and policy malleability.
Contradictory as it may seem, the more diligently and thoroughly these individuals are educated and trained, the more dangerous they will become.
Apparently this is what transpired in the allegations now being investigated involving a Deputy Commissioner.
This is why regular polygraphing of both senior and subordinate ranks of the GPF is so critical if professionalism and honesty is to prevail within the ranks of the Force from top to bottom.
From all the information made available to the media by subordinate ranks in this particular matter, the senior officer whose name is now in the public domain must have been aware that he was engaging in questionable activities.
The officer must have been aware that once uncovered, he would be held accountable for his actions.
Openly provoking the ire of the civilian authorities vested with oversight responsibility of the GPF is an act that any intelligent and dedicated senior police rank would avoid at all cost.
The point that needs to be reinforced here is, a corrupt police force cannot guarantee the security of citizens.
Moreover, questions will be raised whether corrupt practices in the GPF now being investigated are just the tip of an iceberg and whether the corrupt practices runs so deep within, to the extent that the police cannot ensure that on that day when they cast their vote, the process will be free of corruption and whether the duties assigned to them on elections day will be professionally executed.
After all, if one person fails in the line of duty the whole group fails.
These questions might be deemed speculative and groundless at this point in time, however, in the context of the prevailing circumstances where Guyanese are justifiable preoccupied over the conditions for holding free and fair elections these concerns merit serious consideration by all Guyanese.
In the circumstances, the call by the Opposition PPP for ‘a wider probe since what is at stake if public confidence in the leadership of the Force and a test of the commitment to address the issue of corruption’ is justifiable and should be supported by all those who support the view that public confidence in policing is best served by robust and independent oversight.

Yours faithfully,
Clement J. Rohee
Former Minister of Home Affairs

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