The shortage of manpower, low wages, and a lack of representation to lobby for better working conditions create disenchantment in the Guyana Police Force, making officers likelier to accept bribes or, in extreme cases, join drug trafficking networks to get rich, a recent research has found.
“Given these structural conditions, it is unsurprising that officers attempt to bribe or ‘shake down’ the population they are sworn to protect,” says ‘In Transit: Gangs and Criminal Networks in Guyana,’ a working paper published last month by the Geneva-based Small Arms Survey. It adds, “In the most extreme cases, members of the police force switch sides, joining the larger drug trafficking networks to enrich themselves.”
Researchers Taylor Owen and Alexandre Grigsby conducted about 30 interviews in Guyana between February 29 and March 10, 2011 and they say attempts were made to meet with government, opposition, media, and academic leaders. In addition, the paper was also informed by a wide range of research and journalism on Guyanese politics and organised crime history that were reviewed in the lead-up to the field research.
According to the findings, the police force’s inadequate staffing is among the three structural factors that make it susceptible to corruption. The force is described as “chronically understaffed”—with between 2,400 and 2,880 members to police the country’s 750,000 population at 2010—limiting its ability to patrol the internal waterways that are considered a key transit route for the drug trade. (Similarly, the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) is viewed as handicapped by insufficient enforcement capacity.)
The paper says that low wages, which limit the GPF’s ability to attract and retain new recruits, are also a structural problem. The average monthly salary of a junior rank in 2008 was listed as US$160 ($32,000), which was less than the average civil servant’s monthly wage of US$200 ($40,000). The paper cites the observations of retired Brigadier David Granger—now opposition leader—who has said that as a result of the low wages, the less educated show interest in joining the GPF for the wrong reasons.
Added to these, the paper says higher ranking officers have little reason to respond to complaints by the rank and file police. This situation, it explains, is due to the fact that under the Police Act, the Police Association has no powers to make representation in relation to discipline, promotion, transfer, leave or other matters affecting GPF members. Moreover, the law stipulates that the Association must be “entirely independent of and unassociated with any body” outside the GPF. “In other words, police officers have no institutional mechanism or recourse to voice their concerns about working conditions, pay, and other issues that affect the day-to-day operations of the force. In the end, these dynamics create resentment and disenchantment within the GPF, making officers more likely to accept bribes and resort to corruption to increase their earnings,” the paper argues.
The involvement of former members of the police force and the Target Special Squad or ‘black clothes’ police in Roger Khan’s drug operation was cited as an example of the extreme cases where lawmen switch sides to get rich. Two ex-policemen, who are named in the paper, are described as well-known drug traffickers and possible Khan lieutenants that were recruited to protect his organisation and interests.
The paper notes that although the Police Complaints Authority (PCA) is responsible for investigating accusations of corruption, abuse, and ill-treatment in the GPF, it is chronically understaffed and completely dependent on the Police Commissioner and the Home Minister, thereby undermining its independence. With the PCA lacking the power to investigate any complaint, it refers the matter to the GPF, which then conducts an internal investigation and produces a report that it submits to the PCA. “In other words, the GPF investigates itself,” the paper says, adding that the PCA can only make a non-binding recommendation for disciplinary action towards the offending officer if warranted by the report.
Enablers
The research has found that Guyana is “fertile ground” for gangs and organised crime due to widespread corruption and it warns that despite limited violence, the threats may develop into a larger problem. In addition to the corruption of law enforcement, it suggests that the “slow and overburdened” justice system and the “cash-based” nature of the economy are also enablers of gang and organised criminal activity here.
According to the paper, while there is little hard evidence to prove that the judicial system itself is corrupt, noticeable inefficiencies and a lack of capacity prevent Guyanese from having faith in the system. “Brain drain has depleted some of the country’s best talent, leaving courts—and judges benches in particular—poorly or under-staffed,” it further says, noting that Guyana has approximately 3.5 judges and magistrates per 100,000 persons, which is a ratio that is “far lower” than that of other judiciaries in the region. The human resource problem coupled with the limited training of some police prosecutors— responsible for prosecuting low-level criminal charges—and the court backlog result in many of the higher-profile drug traffickers and gang members being charged, prosecuted, and jailed in countries such as Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States, the paper adds.
The economy revolving almost exclusively on cash-based transactions also results in corruption being amplified, according to the paper. “Guyana’s cash economy makes it difficult to bring corruption under control,” it argues, noting that most people here use cash for day-to-day transactions while cheques, debit cards and credit cards are not widely used or accepted. For example, it was found that in 2005, 30% of university students paid their university admissions in cash, while it is said that purchases of so-called “big ticket” items like cars and houses are commonly made entirely in cash.
“An entire economy that rests almost solely on cash is extremely prone to abuse by gangs and criminal organisations as there are no records of transactions and little opportunity to ‘follow the money,’ reducing the risk that bribes to local officials will be detected,” the paper says. The lack of transaction records, it adds, renders accurate reporting of corruption levels difficult. In December last year, the 2011 Transparency International (TI) Corruption Perceptions Index said Guyana edged closer to a “highly corrupt” profile, ranking 134 out of 183 countries that were surveyed on perceived levels of public sector corruption.
Based on available information, in 2008 it was found that Guyana’s informal economy represented roughly 31% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) equivalent to US$600 million. Not all this money is channelled towards corruption, the paper explains, saying that it also represents illegal activities such as drug trafficking, money laundering, or tax and regulatory evasion. “However, these figures represent a considerable proportion of the total Guyanese financial system, underscoring the problem that can accompany a cash economy,” it adds.
