GHRA roasts “corrupt police force”

Apr 25, 2025 News

—says promises by President Ali of thorough probe is weak and unconvincing

Kaieteur News- The Guyana Human Rights Association (GHRA) has blamed the Guyana Police Force for the escalation of violence in society, referencing the recent deaths in Linden and the uproar in West Coast Demerara on Thursday over the death of an 11-year-old girl, Adrianna Younge, at the Double Day Hotel.

The association said while the circumstances of the child’s death are as yet unknown, “her body was found with marks of violence and its discovery only occurred at around 10.00 am despite the pool having been searched several times since she disappeared in mid-afternoon yesterday (Wednesday).”

The GHRA said it is concerned about how the Guyana Police Force (GPF) once again alienated an angry crowd of villagers by attempting to allay fears by spreading, as yet unsubstantiated, reports of having identified the child in CCTV footage in a village some distance from the hotel. “No one has yet corroborated this story, which contradicts the version of the girl’s grandmother who had earlier checked CCTV footage as soon as she realised the child was missing.”

The association said that while burning down the hotel would normally be seen as the work of extremists and provoke a negative response from the average citizen, the startling cross-section of more sober citizens expressing agreement with this action should be a cause for alarm both in the GPF itself and among ruling politicians. “The Guyana Police Force (GPF) is a civic, not a military body. To this extent, it is accountable to the Government, not to the State. At Independence time, this principle legally replaced accountability to the State, which had characterized the GPF’s predecessor, the Police Militia, whose official purpose was to quell disorder. However, successive Governments have treated the Police Force as if it were a Ministry of Government, through the Minister of Home Affairs’ involvement in day-to-day matters far beyond what ought to be an oversight role,” the GHRA said.

According to the GHRA, the unconstitutional appointment of the current Police Commissioner, Clifton Hicken, after he had reached the age of retirement, illustrates the extent to which the GPF is treated as an adjunct to the Government in power. Moreover, this attitude has permeated the entire Force. “The Police Service Commission is moribund and the rampant corruption in the Force is another manifestation of the low morale and disintegration of professional standards,” the GHRA said.

The association said democratic police forces in other jurisdictions are monitored by multiple mechanisms; Parliament, the Judiciary, the media and Complaints Boards. “Unfortunately, the concept of accountability to ‘multiple audiences’ could not be more remote from Guyanese law or practice. Guyana urgently needs to operationalise accountability to these multiple audiences by the creation of a Civilian Oversight Board to replace monolithic Ministerial control. Similar recommendations have been made by innumerable Commissions and Inquiries. Promises by President Ali of all necessary resources being made available to the Police Force to get to the bottom of the death of Adrianne Younge are weak and unconvincing. A more realistic response to the growing public unrest over policing in Guyana is to appoint a Police Commissioner in keeping with the Constitutional provisions and restore the name to Guyana Police Service – quietly discarded in recent years.”

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