Chief Constable Andrew Foo says once a formal complaint is made, allegations of vendors being extorted by city constables will be investigated.
Foo was responding to concerns that were raised during a meeting between Georgetown Mayor and City Council representatives and vendors at City Hall on Wednesday.
During a question and answer period, vendors used the opportunity to complain bitterly about the harassment and exploitation they face on a daily basis.
Vendors, who did not state their names, said that if they did not give the city constables any money they were not allowed to vend. They noted that the constabulary would often send their ranks to harass them if they did not pay their dues.
“The constables come and want to move us but they don’t move their friend’s people who pay them. It is unfair to us… some of us have children going to school. We suffering!” one vendor said.
“…Just because we don’t want to comply with constables by paying them, they harassing us,” another vendor said.
However, Deputy Mayor Patricia Chase Green, during her address to the vendors, urged them to comply then complain. Chase-Green was making the point that vendors would often break the laws and, when confronted by constables, they would give them a bribe. She noted that if they didn’t break the laws, then the constables would be unable to extort them. “The constables don’t push their hands in your pocket, nobody going and take out from your pocket. You should abide by the rules,” she said.
Chase-Green also called on vendors to respect uniformed constables, whom she said would be respectful to them. “There should be no discrimination for any of our city constabulary. I ain’t sehing they all perfect… you give respect you get respect,” she added.
Additionally, Foo, when asked to comment on the accusations leveled against his officers and the constabulary as a whole, told Stabroek News that the accusations are not new. He maintained that while individuals are often vocal to the Mayor, Deputy Mayor, and other councillors and in several forums about alleged corruption at the level of the constabulary, they continuously refuse to level formal complaints. He advised the public that in such cases they must file a formal complaint with the constabulary for action to be taken.
“They must come to the constabulary to make a report. Somebody who has a concern that a member of the constabulary is operating improperly or unethically needs to come. We have senior officers within the constabulary responsible for addressing complaints. Their complaint is recorded, they make a statement and then the investigative department and the administrative arm begin an investigation. At the end of the investigation, a report is submitted and action taken based on its recommendations,” Foo explained.
Stabroek News also approached one of the constabulary officers identified during the meeting as being involved in harassing the vendors. The constable denied that he has ever or will ever act outside the ambits of his duties. He supported the Chief Constable’s position, while noting that anyone who feels he has ever requested or has been provided with an incentive to act in dereliction of his duties should “prove it.”
Many vendors also complained of “junkies” that would normally dump garbage on their premises when they are not there. Town Clerk Royston King, in response to the complaint, told the vendors that both vendors and business operators are the ones who normally encourage “junkies” to dump waste in all corners. He disclosed that the City Council will make provisions to charge and fine persons who are caught giving such persons waste to dump.
