The newspapers yesterday carried a most shocking report of a policeman allegedly found in the bedroom of a 13-year old girl.
This newspaper reported: “A police constable is currently under close arrest after he was found in the bedroom of a teenaged girl by her parents in the wee hours of yesterday (Monday) morning.”
“According to Police Public Relations and Press Officer, Ivelaw Whittaker, the incident occurred about 03:30 hours yesterday during a check made by the parents at their home at Ogle, East Coast Demerara.”
This shocking and disgraceful incident certainly begs the question: Where are we heading?
The police are supposed to be the ones who are role models and who uphold the law and provide Service and Protection, but here is a glaring case of a policeman doing the diametric opposite. And this comes only days after the acting Police Commissioner made some scathing remarks about police corruption and misconduct and how this is tarnishing the image of the Guyana Police Force.
A few weeks ago another policeman was also accused of sexually assaulting a woman that was in custody and who knows how many other  similar incidents may have occurred; but victims may not have reported out of fear and to some extent out of embarrassment. It will also be recalled that a few years ago two policemen from the Mounted Branch were charged for raping a woman.
It would seem that the integrity and morality within the Guyana Police Force are plummeting to its lowest ebb. It is not that there aren’t good, honest and decent policemen/policewomen within the Force but the immoral, unethical and unprofessional behaviour of some is certainly taking a toll on its image.
In addition, the unprofessional behaviour of these rogue cops do not help with regard to the waning confidence of the Guyanese public of law enforcement officers. If we  have a police force with rogue elements, then fighting crime which is an already uphill task will be even more difficult because we will have a situation where we are putting “cat to watchman milk.”
The time is now that we move decisively, swiftly and uncompromisingly to cleanse the Force of all its rogue elements and restore its image to one of high integrity, morality and professionalism. We cannot wait any longer because all the impressive socio-economic advances we have made could be nullified by the corrupt and unprofessional behaviour of the rogue elements within the Force and even in the wider society.
Simultaneously, while moving towards cleansing the Force we need to seriously and systematically review our police recruitment policy and process and training programmes, because it appears that criminal elements are getting past the screening process, and as a result the Force becomes infiltrated and compromised by these elements and by extension Service and Protection to our people.
The acting Police Commissioner, who so far, has been doing a good job, has made a most positive and encouraging pronouncement on dealing with corruption and the rogue elements within the Force.
We now anxiously wait to see what steps and measures will be taken in this regard and importantly also, how soon they will be implemented.