Dear Editor,
A close examination of comments posted on social media following recent attacks and physical assaults on persons either at the gate to their residence or in private motor vehicles reveals two misapprehensions.
According to the cynics and critics, the victims were robbed at the gate to their premises, because they did not have guards, or because their gates are not electronically operated, their cameras badly located or because they did not have a firearm at the time.
In respect to robberies where persons are dragged from their cars while at junctions where traffic lights are located or because they are caught up in bumper to bumper traffic, this is not only a new phenomenon. It is scary.
Some claim it was the victims’ fault because they were in a defective vehicle with windows that cannot wind up nor down, the locks on the doors dysfunctional or because they were not vigilant enough to notice they were being followed.
This ‘blame the victim’ argument is not only obtuse, it is reminiscent of an argument used by misogynists who claim that women are raped because they dress provocatively.
Then there is the cry by another branch of critics and cynics who constantly harp on the failure of the state to protect its citizens. These individuals expect the police to roll out a twenty four/ seven cordon sanitaire, to be in every nook and cranny to protect both public and private property and to prevent crime.
When discussing the fight against crime, we must start from the premise that the Guyana Police Force can only do so much.
In respect to robberies at private properties, this is precisely where organizations like the community policing groups and neighbourhood police are expected to step in to augment the ranks of the GPF and to engage in regular foot, bicycle, vehicular and boat patrols in designated communities.
And as regards robberies from persons seated in a vehicle caught up in traffic, this will require a thorough study by law enforcement to determine what steps can be taken to tackle this new type of criminal activity.
If allowed to go unattended those criminals specialized in that genre of crime will become emboldened and some robberies with the use of a firearm, attempted or otherwise can result in a homicide.
Every year, successive PPP/C governments have been pumping billions into the capital budgets of the Guyana Police Force and the Community Policing Organization to procure land and water transport and communications equipment.
But it is sad to learn that while on the one hand, government is pouring more and more of the people’s money into the coffers of the GPF, on the other hand, there are elements within the organization who are quietly siphoning off and pocketing more, more of the same people’s money. This is a crime known as fraudulent conversion.
If it’s not pilfering of finances, its reckless driving resulting in loss of life, damage to private property or to police vehicles resulting in some being written off.
The public perception is, if the police can raid their own kitty, what’s wrong with civilians stealing from each other?
People usually look to those who sit at the top to set the example.
Top brass of the GPF signify the upper sophisticates in the organization who shoulder heavy responsibilities, who should know better and whose hands must be as clean as a whistle.
However, when those at the top engage in corrupt acts people view such acts as a betrayal of their trust.
The trust between people and the police is as fragile as walking on egg shells.
Unless decisive steps are taken to return to the drawing board with a view to institutionalizing police reform and prison reform, we will continue to be haunted by the cry of the juvenile who I met some time ago at the New Opportunity Corps (NOC) at Onderneeming. When I asked him what would he like to do when released from the facility he responded saying “Sir, I jus wan fuh be a betta tiefman so dem cyan ketch me.”
Yours faithfully,
Clement J. Rohee
Former Minister of Home Affairs
