Persons recovering bail money given run around, invalid cheques

Jan 27, 2021 News

– Police blames re-staffing of finance department

Glum faces yesterday at the GPF finance department after cops told the group that they might not be able to recover their bail money again.

Kaieteur News – Persons are once again accusing police of giving them a royal run around to recover their bail money. Others claimed that after months of being pushed around, they were granted invalid cheques, which the bank rejected.
Yesterday, Kaieteur News met these individuals standing in a line at the Guyana Police Force’s (GPF) finance department located at Eve Leary.
The group of 30 persons was standing there in the compound eagerly for nearly two hours unattended by officers, only to be told that they might not be receiving any cheques for the day.
They were also told that it is not guaranteed that they will receive any cheques today either.
Frustrated, the individuals protested and demanded an explanation from the officers.
A woman said that she was being pushed around for more than 42 days before she finally received her cheque. She was relieved, but when the woman arrived at the bank to encash the cheque, it was rejected.
“They told me that it was invalid, and I said that it bounce so I came back to Eve Leary and they said must come today at two,” said the woman.
With a glum look on her face, she added “Now after two hours here in this line they telling we will have to come back again.”
Four other persons close by said that they too had received invalid cheques after being pushed around for months. They told Kaieteur News that the bank told them that the cheques had an error and sent them back to have them rectified.
Others were also quite angry and vented their frustration by demanding an explanation from the officers, saying that they are fed up.
“Yall tell we come fuh this date and when we turn up now, they telling we fuh go back and come again…This is nonsense, yall have to stop this foolishness. We have left our work to come here only to waste money to collect lil bit money, this ain’t right,” they shouted at the officers.
In attempt to calm them down, two police inspectors – one of them a female came out to give an explanation.
The rank told the group that the run around and invalid cheques is because the finance department has been recently re-staffed.
The female cop said that the persons who signed the cheques that have been rejected by the bank have been removed. She added that the cheques will have to be reissued.
Regarding the runaround, she explained that the cheques need two signatures before it can be handed to them.
“I am the only officer in the department that is currently authorized to sign these cheques at the moment, and I have signed them already but they need another signature before they can be delivered.”
The female inspector continued “The only other person that can sign those cheques is the Commissioner of Police and he is unavailable at this time.”
She admitted that the group was told to come today, but the Commissioner got caught up in a meeting and she could not guarantee when he would be available to sign.