Benn flays police over corruption

Jul 17, 2024 News

Minister of Home Affairs, Robeson Benn speaking at the GPF symposium

– promises probes, audits reviews

Kaieteur News – Minister of Home Affairs, Robeson Benn on Tuesday called out the Guyana Police Force (GPF) over questionable accounting practices, bribery, and corruption and vowed audits and investigations unto the alleged malpractices.

Minister Benn spoke at the Guyana Police Force 185th Anniversary Symposium, on Tuesday morning where these issues were raised in his address to attendees. “The core issue is at the level of the quality of policing,” the minister stated during his address. “Not quantity in terms of how many police are out there, but the quality of policing.”

Benn acknowledged the diversity of the GPF’s training, which has included input from the UK, Canada, India, and China. “The question is the quality of our policemen and women,” the minister said.”

According to the Home Affairs Minister, the most pressing issue is concerning procurement practices and financial accounting within the GPF. He said despite the government’s efforts to address these problems, they have not received the necessary cooperation or response from the GPF leadership. The minister revealed that he has made numerous requests to the GPF leadership to address these issues, but has been met with delays, undermining, and a “disregard of the things we want you to do.”

“There is a significant problem,” Minister Benn declared, vowing to launch reviews, investigations, and audits into the GPF’s procurement processes and financial practices.

He further added, “If money goes to places it should not go, it means that there is massive collusion and corruption. We want new accountable policing; we want new and improved and honest work done. We want to see that the paper trail is not fraudulent because we hear a lot of issues and I know there is a lot of turning back of invoices where you cannot verify what was said to have occurred, occurred.

Bribery

Addressing the issue of bribery within the Guyana Police Force (GPF), the minister stated that “if a policeman on the road decides to do right or left, and people left money, it’s a discredit to him and the Force in the public.” Additionally, Minister Benn revealed that he has been making sudden, unannounced visits to police stations and fire stations, only to find that standards of cleanliness and order often leave much to be desired.

“The police stations must be the most welcoming place in the community,” the minister stressed. “The standards and the things we want for ourselves at a personal level are those we should accord to the people that pay taxes,” he added.

The minister’s criticisms extended to the conduct of police officers, calling for an end to disrespectful behaviour and the extortion of citizens, as he has received endless complaints. “I want the disrespect to people to stop, at police stations. Police must speak properly and politely. Police, the station sergeants and others must make sure that the facilities are clean and well-kept and that they are functioning. Police must help people, police must not extort people”, Minister Benn asserted.

The minister also took aim at police commanders who allegedly flaunt their wealth. Minister Benn remarked: And the police commanders and others who find themselves in authority must not think that arriving at the job that they need to award and reward themselves and to walk around with plenty gold and diamond around their neck and their fingers. If they have that, it means that they are men who can be bought, I can buy you because that is what you like and you flaunt it. It must stop. It must stop”. The minister emphasised that the government is committed to rooting out corruption within the GPF and restoring public trust in the nation’s law enforcement agency.

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accounting practices, bribery, corruption, Guyana Police Force (GPF), Minister of Home Affairs Robeson Benn

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