29 police ranks graduate from prosecutors’ course at Nations University

Jul 11, 2022 News

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Twenty-nine members of the Guyana Police Force, on Friday graduated from the inaugural Police Prosecutors’ Training Course conducted by the Nations University – School of Law.

The programme which is the first of its kind is said to have been specially designed to meet the needs of police prosecutors in Guyana. The programme commenced on October 16, 2021, and lasted for six months, which ended on Friday when the ranks graduated at the Nations University’s New Market Street Georgetown, headquarters. Among the 29 ranks who graduated were a Superintendent, a Deputy Superintendent, four Sergeants, six Corporals, three Lance Corporals, and twelve Constables.
During the six-month course, the ranks were exposed to a magnitude of learning, comprising of 624 hours, of which 294 were guided learning and 330 hours of independent study – covering 196 lessons across 261 topics, ranging from understanding the duties of prosecutors to trial advocacy. The course content, assessments and grading were vetted by ABMA Education based in the United Kingdom, which is an Ofqual recognized Awarding Organization, through a process of reviews and approval of rigorous moderation of assessments.

With the programme’s completion, the ranks are now versed in the understanding of the processes of prosecuting criminal action before the Magistrate Courts within Guyana and will play a pivotal role in transforming and boosting the Force’s Prosecutorial arm throughout the 12 Regional Police Divisions.

The 29 participants who are the first batch of members of the Force to benefit from the course now hold certificates that are internationally recognised and accepted by the University of London as an entry requirement into their prestigious LLB programme.

Attorney General Nandlall in congratulating new graduates urged them to use the freshly acquired skills to help to uphold the rule of law. “The rule of law is the foundation on which modern society rests.  You are aware of the economic, social, modern and other changes taking in our society but none of it will be possible unless we have law and order prevailing in our society, unless the rule of law is respected and unless there is public order and a legal system that delivers justice to our people in accordance with law.   As we are making advances in the other sectors similarly in the legal system, we must develop in keeping with the pace at which the society is moving,” Nandlall said.

Meanwhile, Assistant Police Commissioner Calvin Brutus, in giving the ‘charge’ to the ranks advised them to pay keen attention to Article 144, which relates to fairness to the victim and more importantly fairness to the suspect, and Article 144 (2 A) which speaks to being presumed innocent unless proven guilty or they [accused] pleading guilty.  “That must be the general position of our prosecutors and doing that now…they will ensure that they present evidence [that] is untainted, that is not fabricated, and they will be fair in the discharge of their duties as prosecutors to ensure that justice is served and justice is done,” Brutus posited.

He also highlighted that since the programme is accredited and it has been accepted as part of the criteria for the London University’s LLB programme, anyone desirous of attending the programme could do so as long as they are accepted. “The Force has taken the decision in consultation with the Ministry of Home Affairs and our Permanent Secretary and of course further up in the hierarchy to support them in terms of their tuition to go through and pursue that degree… so that they will be developed, they will contribute back to the Force and to the society,” he added.

Later, Brutus, in an invited comment, expressed his satisfaction on the ranks’ successful completion of the programme. Mr. Brutus noted that this course, along with the numerous others that are currently being offered to all members of the Force, forms part of the Force’s Strategic Plan which focuses heavily on human resource development. “It is for us, a sense of relief and pride because their achievement here today is also an achievement for us in the administration of the Force. We have embarked on developing our people and this course is one of many courses in different disciplines that we are pursuing to develop our staff,” he said.

Owing to the intense nature of the training, the ranks were released on full-time duty to do their various research and study. Speaking on the absence of trained police prosecutors in the Guyana Police Force, Mr. Brutus shared that with this programme, ranks will be better equipped with the knowledge to prosecute matters successfully in the courts. “Now that they are going to augment the court system and assist the police to present matters before the courts on behalf of the State and it also fixes that problem of the absence of trained prosecutors to present matters at court we had when we took over the administration of the Force,” Brutus commented.

Adding to that, the acting Deputy Commissioner noted that with this calibre of training, the Force has acquired the Lexis Nexis software to further assist with legal research, and also alluded that every Court Superintendent office of the Force in Guyana were trained and now have access to the application, so that prosecutors within the Force can effectively and efficiently present their cases in court.

While all the participants performed satisfactorily, Sergeant Quincy Lacon and Superintendent Kevin Das were the two most outstanding students.

Those present at the event were Minister of Home Affairs, Robeson Benn and Chancellor, Yonnette Cummings-Edwards.

 

 

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