Dear Editor,
In February 2010, 1 applied to the Police Divisional Commander at Cove and John and then to the Commissioner of Police seeking permission to acquire a simple air gun, and made reference to the fact that I have been a firearm holder for over twenty-five years. Investi-gations into my application were conducted by ranks from Sparendaam Police Station and sent to the Divisional Commander who gave his recommendation and had same forwarded to the Commissioner of Police on April 20, 2010. Despite numerous enquiries as to the status of this application there has been no response to date.
On December 24, 2010, I wrote the Minister of Home Affairs on this matter and promptly received a formal acknowledgement from his office dated December 29, 2010. Having regard to the fact that the Guyana Police Force falls under the purview of the Minister of Home Affairs, I sent a copy of the said letter to the Commissioner of Police with the expectation that it would have initiated some form of response. However, to date, nothing has happened, which conveys the presumption that the Commissioner’s subordination to the Minister borders on ambiguity.
I find it disconcerting that my application which is quite trifling in nature and was made one year ago has failed to evoke any response whether negative or positive from the office of the Commissioner of Police.
It is my view that there are policemen and women both at the junior and senior levels whose integrity, morals and professionalism are exemplary and beyond reproach, and I have had the good fortune to have associated with many such officers.
Having regard to this matter, it is my fervent hope that this missive will publicize the unnecessary frustration that is often imposed on citizens, and expose the procrastinatory attitudes that are often adopted by functionaries in public office.
Yours faithfully,
Maurice Rajkumar
Editor’s note
We are sending a copy of this letter to Commissioner of Police, Mr Henry Greene, for any comment he might wish to make.
