The need for collaboration between the public and the Guyana Police Force has been highlighted in a film titled “Eyes on Crime”, which follows the capture of convict Shawn Archibald, who was sentenced last year for armed robbery.
Funded by the US government, the film documents how crucial video evidence can be for prosecuting cases, and documents the role citizens can play in ensuring a case’s success.
A release from the force noted that the film was produced as part of the “Strengthening the Criminal Justice System in Guyana” project, which aims to strengthen the integrity and responsiveness of the local justice system.
“The project contributes towards this goal in two areas: by improving the investigation of crime scenes, case preparation and trial advocacy, and ensuring media and public support for justice system reform; and by developing the capacity of the Guyanese criminal justice system to collect and analyze CCTV camera digital evidence recorded at a crime scene,” the release noted.
The project is funded by the US Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement (INL) and implemented by the Justice Education Society (JES) of British Colombia.
“The film captures some of the most impressive outcomes bringing together the criminal justice system and the public in the area of forensic video analysis. Before JES projects, the GPF collected video evidence but did not have the necessary technology or specialized training to analyze it. JES provided forensic video analysis (FVA) equipment and training to the police, public prosecutors and magistrates. At the same time, JES created public service announcements to make sure that the public understands the value of forensic video and is willing to cooperate with the police. These efforts came together in a successful prosecution of an armed robbery in Linden, Guyana,” the release stated.
The robbery
On New Year’s Eve, 2017, the release related, Trevor Campbell was robbed at gun point by three men who approached him in the vicinity of the Mackenzie Market. They reportedly threatened him and ripped off his gold chains before driving away from the scene.
Recapping the case, the police reported that Archibald, who was later convicted for the crime, was captured after he was identified from CCTV footage which went viral on social media. The footage had been placed online by the owner of a store whose cameras overlooked the street where the robbery had occurred. The victim, Campbell, had noticed the cameras and asked the storeowner to access them.
“They were fortunate: not only did the video exist but it also captured the robbers’ appearance in high detail. The storeowner decided to put the video online in hopes that somebody would recognize the suspects,” GPF reported.
Police retrieved the video and sent it to the FVA unit, where it was processed and close-up images of the suspect’s face led to him being identified by one of the officers, who recognized him.
“But arresting the suspect was only the beginning of the process. The police had to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the person arrested was the same person who was captured on video committing the crime. That is where forensic video analysists put their technical skills to the test. They isolated images of the suspect’s tattoos from the video and overlaid them for comparison with the photos of Shawn Archibald’s tattoos that the police made during the arrest,” the release noted.
“FVA analyst Gary Jordan testified in Linden Magistrate’s Court presenting his comparative analysis. The evidence was so compelling that Shawn Archibald’s defence lawyer advised him to change his plea to guilty,” it added.
The case ended with Archibald being sentenced in May, 2018 to four years in prison on an armed robbery charge. Notably, Archibald is now on trial for other crimes uncovered during the robbery’s investigation, which led to the discovery of a hijacking ring.
“As part of the investigation, GPF detectives examined the car used by the robbers on the night of the crime. They saw that the car’s vehicle identification numbers were altered to hide its identity. Investigators successfully worked with the Guyana Revenue Authority to identify the vehicle and found the rightful owner of a car who was a victim of carjacking in November 2017. This discovery linked the robbers to a wave of [hijackings] across Guyana in 2017- 2018,” the GPF reported.
“Investigation[s] into the carjacking ring involves multiple suspects across Guyana and so, extends far beyond the single case of Shawn Archibald. The outcomes of the carjacking investigation are yet to be seen but one lesson for the future is clear: collaboration within the GPF and with the public is a critical component of successful cases,” the GPF said.
