When Guyana’s President David Granger named Leslie James as the new Commissioner of Police last month, he was cognisant of the negative perception by the public, a need for comprehensive reform, and other challenges facing the Guyana Police Force. Said Granger: “I don’t give orders to the Commissioner of Police, but I want somebody who is unbribable. I want somebody who is intelligent and … somebody who is committed to carrying out the programme of security sector reform, who has the initiative, and who can generate public trust.”
In this statement, Granger identified a number of issues plaguing the GPF: a lack of trust by the public, susceptibility to bribery by some of its members, and a dire need for a remedying of major structural issues that are following the Force like a dark cloud. Out of all of these issues, it is the first one that remains paramount in the minds of nationals at home and in the diaspora, which is for the public to have confidence in the GPF – this erosion of faith having being too often impacted in recent years with several police officers arraigned on criminal charges, among the more serious being for murder.
It goes without saying that the public’s trust in the GPF is a requisite for officers effectively and responsibly undertaking their duties – and that nationals must have confidence along with the expectation the challenging job of policing will be performed professionally and without bias by members of the police force.
Perhaps Granger’s appointment of Leslie is a first step in addressing this lack of trust by the public, with the initial signs almost auspicious since the move met no resistance from the Leader of the Opposition. The absence of opposition should give the new Commissioner some leeway in reforming the GPF, and to begin enforcing accountability throughout the police hierarchy starting from the top down, to also seek out and remove the corrupt officers, and to address the lack of public trust the GPF faces while out on the streets.
It is a similar story of accountability and a lack of trust in the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service, with Opposition Senator Gerald Ramdeen last week noting the relationship between the police and the public was so insecure and unstable that nationals were gripped by fear and remain reluctant to trust its officers. Ramdeen noted the situation was so untenable that nationals were uncertain on whether to stop, or continue driving, when ordered to pull over by representatives of the law.
Ramdeen also called on the government for legislation to deal with the criminal element in the police service, and similar to Guyana, where Leslie’s appointment saw no resistance, Ramdeen said the Opposition would lend its full support to a government move to clean up the TTPS.
Such reform is needed right now with the crime statistics being far from reassuring, with Ramdeen indicating that figures from the office of the Commissioner of Police show the government spent (TT) $26 billion in the past three years in fighting crime. However, despite such an expenditure, as of September 1, 2018, there were 8,787 serious crimes so far, a worrisome indicator of how rampant criminality has now become.
Ramdeen also noted the escalating murder rate, which was 366 last week, was a worrisome 13 percent increase from last year. Also notable was the 29 percent increase in rapes, incest, and other crimes, along with a 50 percent increase in criminal acts of indecency. Along with these troubling statistics, Ramdeen issued a reminder to the police regarding many unsolved missing persons’ cases.
Given the evidence of escalating criminality both in Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago, the way forward is nothing less than the imperative for both governments to focus on fixing the lack of trust between the police and nationals.