Dear Editor,
I have followed with deep interest discussions in the media concerning the use of the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) unit at Dartmouth, Essequibo and elsewhere between 2015 and 2019. On this occasion, what spurred my interest in the matter was the publication a letter by a writer, who on September 24, 2021 declared; ‘Let me be pellucid. There is no written SOP in place for the Police SWAT Squad.’ Having regard to calls for a Coroner’s Inquest and government’s commitment to conduct an impartial investigation into the Boston killing, I will restrict my contribution to clarifying whether or not the GPF’s SWAT unit has a written Standard Operating Procedures (SOP).
During my tenure as Minister of Home Affairs I sought and got Cabinet’s approval to set up a SWAT unit within the Guyana Police Force. A contract was signed in October 2013 between the Government of Guyana and The Emergence Group (TEG) based in the USA in support of the Ministry of Home Affairs to establish and train its first Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team. 27 ranks belonging to the GPF were interviewed and selected by a joint GPF/TEG Management Team. Following the launch of the Team in February 2014 training began in earnest between March and May 2014 with graduations in specialized areas in between.
In late April 2014 the Ministry wrote to the Commissioner of Police concerning the SOP for the SWAT unit. By June 2014, TEG completed and submitted the first draft of SWAT’s Standard Operating Proce-dures (SOP) to me, the then PS, MOHA and the then COP GPF. In its overview of the SOP, TEG declared; ‘The SWAT Team is a specially selected and trained group of men and women that provides a concentration of resources and expertise at a level that could not be achieved as easily or effectively by conventional uniformed officers or fugitive investigators. It is the desire of the Guyana Police Force to have proper tactical options readily available to handle situations for which the need for special training and tactics may arise.’ TEG continued; ‘The Guyana Police Force recognizes that SWAT operations are inherently hazardous, and that successful resolution of an incident may involve decisions that affect the lives and safety of all persons involved.’
The SWAT unit SOP refers to its Mission, Joint Operation Command, Risk Management, Organizational Structure, Personnel Positions and Duty Descrip-tions, Crisis Negotiations, Logistics, Technical Operations, Training, After Action Reports, Equipment Management, Use of Force, Use of Force Investigation and Protocols and Priority of Life. The 24 page SOP was submitted to the Ministry FOR INFORMATION along with a request by the then COP for ‘approval for the SOP to be named Standing Order No. 109 in accordance with the Police Act.’ The Ministry granted approval for the SOP to be named Force Standing Order No. 109 in accordance with the Police Act. The rest was left to the then Commission-er of Police.
What is passing strange, if not troubling, was to learn seven years later and having been deployed on several occasions in Regions 2, 4 and 6 and with the approval of three Commissioners of Police that; ‘There is no written SOP in place for the Police SWAT squad.’
Sincerely,
Clement J. Rohee
Former Minister of Home Affairs
