Dear Editor,
‘Police abuse of law abiding citizens “a deep seated problem“ –Ramkarran‘ (SN May 14) refers. I commend the former Speaker for breaking from the silence, and the ranks, of his comrades, especially the responsible minister. Even though Mr Ramkarran should have some credibility with his troubled brother, he now runs the risk of a ‘kicking‘ from the latter, who is not enamoured of critics of the GPF. Now I go further.
“Deep seated problem” is an understatement. The law-abiding deal daily with widespread and uncontrolled lawlessness from too many in the GPF. It is not only the abuse outlined by Mr Ramkarran, but also the financial, psychological, and constitutional abuses indicative of a core sickness, an institutionalized madness.
This is the core sickness of a vehicle operating within the confines of the laws – all of them – but is stopped and surrounded by a roving band of armed policemen for no reason. No reason, other than “Dis is ah fancy car yuh gat heah man…” Knowing Guyanese would recognize this veiled greeting to the driver as the prelude to a shakedown. That car belongs to me. A well-known local attorney related that he has been stopped and financially frisked at least two dozen times. Repeat: two dozen times! I have raised a simple, far-reaching question with the man-in-the-street, as circumstances allow: “I ask you – do you think there are honest policemen in this country? One honest cop? The answers, without exception, have been staggering, and confirmed the worst of fears. Yes, the perception of the reality is that grotesque. Maybe those two-letter, one-word responses are on the money; maybe not.
Still, I do know of the stories I have been told (hearsay); I know of the situations I have observed from my perch as an interested bystander. They are all damning. Most of us know of this even more damning piece of trickery. It goes like this: stop, stationhouse trek, wait, charge, bail, court, fine. Case closed. That is for the uncooperative, the environmentally naïve and ethically mulish. Instead of hours at the station, more hours at court (almost a whole day lost in total), and a double digit fine, why not be sensible and settle for less than half of the money in less than half an hour? Regardless of whether the stop and charge is manufactured or real in this realm where the maladministration of justice prevails. This is negotiating at street level, sharing with collaborators on the inside, and the prosperity of the organized lawlessness of the day. For more serious matters, stripes step aside and stars take over. Just hand over the damn file!
How did matters come to this sordid pass? When did this longtime nemesis of the PPP become its favoured, sacrosanct godchild? A nemesis that prompted the creation of an unorthodox mercenary force, and the daily offering of its own inconsequential minnows? Things have metamorphosed to and culminated in the present state because the GPF takes it cues from successive administrations and none more so than the PPP. The police force might be other things, but it is not stupid. Dumb yes, but stupid no. It knows what is hidden, and where. It knows who is protected and how. It knows who the players are, be they in the business of parliament, or any other similar business. There is so much of the incriminating to choose from, and the ruling party knows that, too. That is why there is the asininity about “procedures” from the HPS (“incomprehensible and incoherent” his fellow traveller called him) concerning the inexplicable longevity of Greene. History gave us Henry ‘The Navigator,’ the PPP gave Guyana Henry ‘The Titillater.’ Clearly, the PPP and the GPF have become a mutual protection society. Decency, what is right, and society’s outcries are all of no significance.
I say to Mr Ramkarran, deep-seated problem is a start; it is a long way from the fog and heart of all that is truly wrong. But I keep searching and asking for an honest member of the police force. Perhaps he or she is out there somewhere. I think a snap poll is in order, if only to let citizens vent. Law-abiding ones, of course.
Yours faithfully,
GHK Lall
