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Fight for power has Police Force divided – PSC member
Kaieteur News – Member of the Police Service Commission (PSC) and a retired Assistant Commissioner of Police, Clinton Conway, is of the view that the Guyana Police Force (GPF) is divided because its ranks are fighting for power amongst themselves.
Conway made this statement during an interview with HGTV Nightly News on Thursday evening. Conway was being interviewed by investigative journalist Travis Chase about the recent fraud charge he received alongside PSC Chairman, Paul Slowe and several other senior police officers – some of whom are retired while others are still serving the GPF.
Member of the Police Service Commission (PSC), and Retired Assistant Commissioner of Police, Clinton Conway
It is alleged that Conway and his colleagues conspired to defraud the GPF of over $10M. During the interview, he was asked by Chase to share his view on the current state of the Force.
In response Conway said, “Dark clouds (are) hovering over the police headquarters and it has spread to the various regions as well, there is disunity (in the Force)”.
The PSC member added that the force’s pastor, Raymond Doolichand had prayed about the disunity and was dismissed. According to media reports, GPF’s Chaplin Doolichand, made the prayer in early March of this year during the Force’s Annual Police Officer’s Conference. Doolichand had said that there is need for confession of several sins (in the force) because of corruption, racism, disunity, fragmentation, bribery and injustice.
Not long after, Doolichand received a letter from a senior rank in the force, notifying him that his service as Chaplin of the Force has come to an immediate end. After his termination was headlined in the media, President Irfaan Ali, stated that he did not find anything wrong with Doolichand’s prayer and ordered that he be reinstated with immediate effect.
After referring to Doolichand’s prayer of disunity in the Force, Conway continued that there is indeed division, which includes ranks “from top to bottom”.
He explained that the division exists because there is a fight for power within the Force.
“Everyone is fighting for power in the Force”, he said
One example he listed to support his point is the recently held elections of the Police Association where two elections were held in one day and two different Chairs were elected.
Following the first election, Inspector Prem Narine was elected as the Chairman. A few hours later, another set of election results surfaced and those results showed that the previous Chair, Inspector Roseann Forde, was re-elected. Photos of letters written to the Police Association by the Acting Commissioner of Police, Nigel Hoppie was posted by an online media house on Facebook.
The first letter instructed that both the elections must be quashed and a fresh one be held at a later date. Instructions in a subsequent letter then said that the second election is null and void and that the results from the first will stand, leaving Inspector Prem Narine as the legally elected chairman of Police Association.
Apart from fighting for power, Conway went on to tell Chase that political influence also exists in the Force. “There is plenty political influence inside the Force; there some are senior politicians who are officers inside the Force”.
Conway stated too that there are some officers who are excellent but hinted that because of political influence, they are unable to perform their duties without favour and ill will.
The ex-Assistant Commissioner believes the division among the ranks and the heavy political influence over the Force will further erode the public’s confidence. Conway said when there is no confidence in the Force, the public will not want speak to ranks or share vital information to assist with key investigations.
“Policemen are not always on the scene, sometimes we need eyewitnesses, people who were there to tell us things”, said Conway.
The PSC member suggested that in order to solution the division and political influence that exists, the Force needs a Commissioner who can perform his duties without fear or favour.
He added that such a person must be free from all political influence and stand up for what is right.
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