– Ramjattan urges Ramnarine to return to police force

PUBLIC Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan is hoping that Assistant Commissioner of Police, David Ramnarine, who is presently on annualised vacation leave, will return to the Guyana Police Force rejuvenated.

Ramnarine, who acted as top cop for a number of months, was overlooked for the post as well as that of deputy commissioner of police, last August.
Ramjattan told the Guyana Chronicle that Ramnarine has a wealth of experience and is hoping he returns to the force and support Commissioner Leslie James and his deputies Paul Williams, Maxine Graham, Lyndon Alves and Nigel Hoppie.

The minister reiterated that the process of selecting the commissioner of police was done through consultations with the opposition leader and the Public Service Commission. He also added that President David Granger did ask him for a recommendation for the post of top cop and he had provided him a name.

“Everyone knows that when they reached the rank of assistant commissioner of police it is not an entitlement for them to become the commissioner of police; it’s the function of the President, opposition leader and Public Service Commission. That is how it is; not because you are the most senior assistant commissioner of police you have to be the top cop,” Ramjattan explained.

The President, had on record, said he wants a commissioner who is ‘un-bribable’ and commands the respect of citizens,as well as junior and senior officers of the force.
Following the selection process, Leslie James emerged as top cop. Ramjattan said he has high confidence in James leading the force, pointing out that the new commissioner has a wealth of experience and is qualified for the job.

The minister also expressed full confidence in all four deputy commissioners of police and noted that while they may make mistakes here and there, these must be immediately corrected to avoid repetition.

“It is very important for us to support them, all five of them at the top there. Now with the resources and the confidence level, I would like to see the old bad way gotten rid of; the good old way remain,” Ramjattan said.
While the force is enjoying a reconfiguration at the top, he said there will be some challenges.

“What the force now requires is a new culture of being far more courteous with the members of the public; what they need is lots more assets. Underlying the two also has to do with resources and the quality of personnel; the quality of personnel depends on your recruits and the training they get,” the minister said.
Big on his agenda, he said, is the training of ranks to improve their interaction with members of the public.

“We have to recapture the confidence and bring convictions at the trial, among other things, while we do have the reconfiguration at the top. These are the areas where I want to see results and improvements,” said Ramjattan.