Minister of Public Security, Khemraj Ramjattan, on Thursday, vowed to investigate allegations, made by indigenous leaders that police officers stationed at hinterland locations have been molesting residents of those communities in addition to behaving unprofessionally.
During the 13th National Toshaos Conference, which was held at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre last week, indigenous leaders took the opportunity to voice their concerns with the Minister of Public Security along with Deputy Police Commissioner, Paul Williams, regarding the misconduct of police officers stationed in their communities.
Sherry Balkarran, a member of the North Pakaraima District Council, told the minister that some police officers have no regard for the law or the rules and regulations of the village council and are molesting the girls in the area. She said she is not satisfied with how the officers are punished after complaints have been leveled against them and asked for those police officers to be treated the same way an indigenous person who is accused of rape or sexual assault is treated.
Following Balkarran’s statement, a toshao shared his own experience with a police officer. He said, recently, his son told him that he was assaulted by a police officer. He said he subsequently approached the said officer and questioned him about the incident. However, the police officer merely told him, “man leave it, I was intoxicated.”
Meanwhile, another leader said that police officers have been disrespecting the village council and the residents of Orealla and are operating like they are in control of the village. Further, the leader said, after conducting their own investigations and finding out who the drug dealers are in the village, they made a report to the police, who approached the alleged drug dealers but made no attempt to arrest them. The police and those men have since become friends, the leader said.
Another leader, Wanita Xavier of Region Eight, said that police officers are not allowing residents to have access to her village unless the residents give them a pack of beer or a bottle of Blackstone.
In response, Ramjattan vowed to investigate the complaints made by the toshaos. He noted that they have withdrawn policemen from those areas before, following numerous complaints from residents. The Deputy Commissioner, however, stressed that they cannot discipline without evidence.
Ramjattan then urged the leaders to encourage youths in their communities to join the police force before disclosing that there are 4,500 vacancies in the police force presently. This, he explained, will minimise the amount of police officers from the coastland that will be stationed in their communities. However, he added that if the residents are not interested in becoming members of the police force, they can join the Community Policing Groups (CPG). According to the minister, the ministry has managed to procure a number of uniforms for the CPG, which will soon be distributed and that during the course of this week, he will be distributing an all-terrain vehicle along with a boat and engine to the White Water CPG.
The minister told the gathering that every single corrupt police officer having been investigated and proven guilty, will be terminated. He reassured the leaders that those police officers in question will be investigated.
