Dear Editor,
The Guyana Police Force (GPF) needs to implement a compulsory system for bail money lodged at the four stations In the Region #2 district located at Aurora, Suddie, Charity and the Divisional Headquarters at Anna Regina to be refunded from where it was lodged and no where else.
Under the present system too many people here have been losing their hard earned money unjustifiably after suffering undue inconvenience and suffering to get a refund.
For some reason or the other, it is a common practice for money lodged at Aurora, Suddie and Charity stations to be sent to the Divisional Headquarters Finance office in Anna Regina from where it has to be uplifted.
Before going to that office to do so, time and passage money has to be spent to get the S/O from those stations to endorse the receipt certifying that the money can be refunded. Whenever the S/O was out, further visits had to be made only to incur more expenses.
Surprisingly, on getting to the office, information is given that the ball money will now have to be uplifted at the police Headquarters in the city as it was sent there.
An entire day’s pay is lost to get there with expenses from this end for a return trip being around $6,000 which makes it useless to spend much more to recover bail money of 5,000 or a lesser amount.
In the past, a form was filled up at the district finance office for the money to be returned there from where it could have been uplifted but this is no longer possible following a decision taken at police Headquarters in Georgetown.
It is an unfair situation by any means to lose financially or to suffer any hardship or inconvenience when seeking a bail refund with the onus being on the force to devise a better system so as to eliminate these difficulties once and for all.
Yours faithfully,
Baliram Persaud
