In what he pointed out was his final address to them, President Bharrat Jagdeo yesterday praised the police force for its performance but charged that major crime fighting efforts such as in Buxton and the hunt for Rondell ‘Fineman’ Rawlins’ were dogged by the varying agendas of senior force members.
Jagdeo, addressing members present at the opening ceremony of the Police Officers’ Conference held at Police Officers’ Mess, Eve Leary, noted that he believed that every president must be unambiguous in his or her support for the police force and the disciplined services. He said that in the past, he has been openly criticised by several human rights organisations for defending the GPF and sometimes the soldiers when they go out and confront criminals and certain actions are taken.
In spite of criticisms that have blanketed the Guyana Police Force (GPF) over the years, he urged members not to be discouraged and congratulated them for their service over the past year.
Jagdeo also told the gathering, which included several former police commissioners and high ranking officers, that he would at some point, likely when his term has ended, discuss security failings. “I will talk about how we messed up too, because we could have cleaned up that situation in Buxton earlier but (for a ) few people, including from the Police Force, right up at the top, who had a different agenda,” he said, while adding that he would tell of specific instances where those persons countermanded instructions that could have led to an earlier capture or elimination of the Rondell ‘Fineman’ Rawlins gang. “That is why I always urge you to be professional,” he added, while noting that some ranks have blood on their hands.
He added that he hoped the GPF will grow into a strong, professional organisation that would make the country proud and he also urged the ranks to wear their uniform proudly and conduct themselves in an exemplary way.
Jagdeo noted that while there are criticisms in the newspapers from time to time, including some that is justified, the GPF’s record speaks for itself. “I think that our police force and the record of service and its record of achievement stands second to none particularly given the level of resources that we have,” he said.
He also told the ranks not to be discouraged by criticism, which is often directed by a small cabal of people with their own “destructive” purpose. According to Jagdeo, he is proud of the force’s achievements because when he does a comparison, it has done extremely well.
He admitted that the resources available to the joint services are inadequate and added that the figure currently available needs to be doubled or even tripled, especially given the importance of law and order to economic development and growth. “Although you don’t see yourself directly involved in maybe economic policy, you play a critical role in the economic achievements of our country by providing law and order and security, so I hope that you can see all of these linkages,” he said.
Priorities
Meanwhile, Jagdeo said drug dealers needed to be taken on with fury given the implications of the trade. “They bring in guns with the drugs. Drugs don’t go by themselves, they go along with guns,” he noted, while adding the fight must be fuelled by the destruction drugs pose to the future of young people and not because another country wants it.
Jagdeo noted that there are some countries who want to turn the GPF into their drug fighting entity but stressed that such interest ought to be resisted. He recalled that during the period of the spate of killings in the early aughts, he had asked for overseas help. “We were basically told that those were national issues,” he said, although he did not say which country had been approached. Two years ago the UK withdrew substantial financing for police reforms because the government balked at some aspects of the project.
He said that the money that the country gets to fight the drug trade cannot pay the wages and salaries of the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) for a month.
However, Jagdeo did emphasise the importance of transnational sharing, saying that it would be the best way for the security body to fight the drug trade.
Additionally, Jagdeo said that the government had identified several areas within the GPF where priority action was needed and this resulted in the efforts to set up a forensic laboratory, traffic policing reforms, including the introduction of the breathalysers and the passing of legislation, and a programme to build a lab with a link to other agencies. This, he stressed is all part of the growth of the organisation.
He added that a state-of-the-art intelligence facility, at a cost of close to $700 million, will be built to go after criminals.
In addition to these plans, Jagdeo also noted that there is a project to install closed circuit cameras and he said once the government’s fibre optic cable comes into being, there we will be a network to assess movements and software could be acquired to anticipate unusual activities even before crimes takes place.
He urged ranks to educate themselves on new methods, particularly those that use information communication technology in crime fighting and improving management. “We can use this agency as a tool and once the cable comes in every police station will be connected,” he noted.
Meanwhile, Police Commissioner Henry Greene said that the annual conference can be seen as a time of revival, resolution, spring cleaning and house cleaning. He explained that it is intended to re-examine and review the force’s operations, administration and to ensure that ranks are on the right track. It is also intended to re-examine the dictates of the president, Home Affairs Minister and the government to ensure that the Force is on the right track, he said. “We look at the good things and the criticisms, where we are going wrong, everything we look at and sit down and work out what we want to do,” he explained.
The conference is being held under the theme “Consolidating our gains through effective strategic planning and institutional modernisation for safer communities.”
