The Guyana Police Force presided over a reduction in serious crimes last year compared to 2008, according to Commissioner of Police Henry Greene who said his force has taken an all-out fight to crime, including drugs, although some officers continue to neglect their duties.
Addressing the opening session of the police officers conference held yesterday at the Officers’ Mess, Eve Leary, Greene said there was a twenty-six percent decrease in murders last year and even without the 31 murders attributed to the ‘Fineman’ gang in 2008, last year would still have seen a decrease.
Rondell ‘Fineman’ Rawlins, who was killed by police in a shootout in 2008, was the head of a gang the police said was responsible for the three slaughters in 2008 – the Lusignan massacre that saw 11 persons being killed; the Bartica massacre in which 12 persons were killed; and the Lindo Creek massacre where eight miners were murdered and their bodies burnt.
Greene told the three-day conference, which is being held under the theme ‘Providing effective security through improved police-community relations’, that robbery under arms went down by 32% last year.
“We have worked assiduously in terms of our raids, our roadblocks, work with the joint services … [to] seek out those criminal elements that bugged us and haunted us,” the top cop said, adding that the force managed to put their intelligence together and produced files on those who are members of gangs.
The files have assisted the police in keeping track of “what is happening in the criminal landscape” and it has revealed that the same persons keep popping up and committing crimes.
There was also a reduction in traffic deaths last year and according to the commissioner the force continues to see alcohol being one of the most “potent” reasons for fatal accidents.
A number of persons were charged last year in connection with traffic incidents and these include those who were caught driving under the influence, those who breached the traffic lights and those who used their cellular phones while driving.
Touching on the area of narcotics, Greene said the police continue to target drug pushers.
He also noted that the police were involved in two cases in collaboration with authorities overseas, while mentioning the ongoing investigation involving US authorities following the seizure of a pink suitcase that contained 50 pounds of cocaine.
However, he was unable to give any specifics on the cases when asked about them later.
Over 100 ‘drug houses’
And since the last conference in March last year, Greene said that over 100 ‘drug houses’ have been targeted by the force during which 77 kilogrammes of cannabis was unearthed along with over 600 grammes of cocaine. And over 300 persons were placed before the courts in relation to the cocaine and marijuana that were unearthed.
Greene also said the force has been increasing its intelligence gathering as a number of ranks had been trained in that area last year and in every division there are small groups of police officers who specifically work on intelligence gathering.
Complaints
Meanwhile, Commission-er Greene said that some 199 reports were made to the Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) in relation to police officers’ conduct compared to 178 made in 2008.
“Increasingly, our ranks continue to neglect their duties,” the commissioner said but added that this is true for junior ranks at the station level where persons make reports and ranks do not record them “for more than one reason.”
“We will continue to charge those ranks departmentally as well as those who we have to charge criminally, we will continue to do our jobs,” the commissioner said.
No mention was made of the torture of the 15-year-old boy and two men by ranks at the Leonora Police Station late last year during a murder investigation.
Three police officers, including a sergeant, are before the court on torture charges and the murder investigation has now been stalled. The torture of the child and the two men was a highpoint amidst criminal activities committed by police officers and army officers during last year.
Meanwhile, Greene yesterday stressed that the police need the public to effectively fight crime and as a result the force continues to engage the public and various organizations.
Greene also said that in keeping with a suggestion made by President Bharrat Jagdeo last year the force has more and more been utilizing information technology as they have seen the need for it since many persons refuse to take action after reporting matters while some are afraid to pick out persons on identification parades.
“We recognize the use of technology more and more would have to be implemented to support the work of the police force, the use of forensic science would have to be used more and more to support the work of the police,” Greene said.
He said each division has access to computers and some stations around the country are also computerized and at present they are working with a consultant who would set up the programme for public and crime analysis.
He said persons in all the divisions have been trained to use the programme.