The PNCR yesterday said any kind of brute force used by the police is unacceptable as it leads to the “indiscriminate slaughter of young men and prevents a determination of the masterminds behind crime in Guyana.”
The party in a statement read at its press conference yesterday at Congress Place referred to comments made by President Bharrat Jagdeo at the opening of the 24th conference of the Association of Caribbean Commissioners of Police (ACCP) last week Monday in which he advocated brute force in some circumstances.
President Jagdeo was responding to Assistant Secretary-General of Caricom Dr Edward Greene, who in advocating for police reform quoted part of a Stabroek News editorial, which he had said aptly articulated what needs to be done in police reform: “The events of the past decade have made it clear that the brute-force tactic of sending out hunting parties to shoot bandits has not eradicated those transnational crimes which keep pumping guns, drugs, dirty money and criminal violence into the country. Systematic police reform − that emphasises crime intelligence and human security − is necessary if the country is to enjoy a sustained era of public safety and economic stability. Only a transformed security environment will attract foreign investment and persuade local talent to remain in the country.”
However, President Jagdeo in response told Greene that there are times when brute force needs to be used by police officers. “Yes Eddie [Greene], we need brute force because when you have people shooting at you with AK-47s you need to send out brute force with AK-47s to get back at them. You can’t go out there and smile and shake their hands and negotiate.”
“This is the very approach the PNCR finds unacceptable,” the party said yesterday in response to Jagdeo’s statement.
It said such an approach does not go to the root cause of crime and it also leaves many unwholesome criminal phenomena unexplained.
“This approach can lead to the trampling of the law because the laws of Guyana state quite specifically that each citizen of this Republic is innocent until proven guilty,” the party said.
The PNCR said it is not surprised that despite the “brute force” approach, crime continues to increase in Guyana and the security forces seem incapable of effectively reining it in.
“It is time that the Jagdeo administration goes back to the drawing board and takes decisions to tackle crime in a multifaceted and enlightened manner. The brute force approach has not and will not work,” the party said.
Meanwhile, the party said it supported the ideas of ACCP President and Barbados Commissioner Darwin Dottin and Dr Greene for more training of police officers and crime prevention strategies and rehabilitation.
