The Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) has been given oversight of areas outside of money laundering and the financing of terrorism under an amendment to the police force’ standing orders, which appears to be the source of renewed opposition concerns about the unit and why Attorney-General Basil Williams has signalled plans to make it independent.
Under the previous PPP/C government, SOCU was established specifically to investigate Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT)-related offences. However, based on the amendment to the GPF Standing Order No. 62, which was submitted to Parliament by Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan, SOCU will now have powers to investigate crimes such as murders, piracy and smuggling, which traditionally fall under the ambit of the police.