THE attitude of some members of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) towards the public and the deviant behaviour of others, particularly corruption, are of concern to the Administration as they impact negatively on the trust, confidence and image they are trying to inculcate.

Acting Police Commissioner Leroy Brumell said so in his address at the opening of the three-day annual Officers’ Conference on Thursday, at Eve Leary, Georgetown.
He acknowledged that the GPF has been dealing with such matters through the Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) which has, recently, been decentralised to all policing divisions for greater effect.
Brumell admitted that, during last year, the OPR received 291 complaints against ranks, as compared to 244 in 2011, arising out of issues related to neglect of duty, assault and corrupt practices – including demanding money from the public, bartering to forego charges and deliberately staying away from attendance at court.
He said, following investigations, a number of ranks were charged criminally and/or departmentally and the GPF is appreciative of the efforts and support being given by the Ministry of Home Affairs in dealing with this problem of police corruption, through the establishment of hotlines and e-mail addresses by which members of the public can make such reports.
Brumell said that is in addition to the OPR, the Police Complaints Authority (PCA) and the Force’s ‘Open Days’, when citizens can also complain.
According to the Top Cop: “We find, though, that we are constrained in our efforts at dealing with corruption, which is mostly a two-way thing, as, invariably, members of the public add fuel to police corruption by making the approaches in most instances and only report when they fail to get the expected results.

FALL THROUGH
“Even then, some persons do not follow up with a statement nor attend court or the disciplinary inquiry and the matters fall through. The Police Force cannot terminate the services of a member on a mere report made. Other legal requirements have to kick in. It is ironic that the very members of the public complaining about police corruption are the ones contributing to this vice,” he pointed out.
Brumell said the GPF has a lot of dedicated and professional men and women who do their job with pride. They are genuine and eagerly assist members of the public with their requests for service and protection but, admittedly, there are a few who exhibit deviant behaviour. However, once found out, they are dealt with accordingly.
He continued: “Here I must publicly commend Detective Constable 19949 Alvin Fraser for his exemplary professional conduct that was displayed at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, on Tuesday last, when he recovered and returned, intact, Cdn$10,500 and the Canadian passport that belonged to an outgoing 78-year-old Guyanese-born citizen. The passenger had left the money and passport in the washroom at the airport. This is, indeed, very commendable. This is the type of outcome our training curriculum is designed to achieve”.
Brumell explained that, through the Public Relations Department, he has been apprised of the many concerns expressed by citizens, via the media, in relation to police actions on noise nuisance and domestic violence.
Zero tolerance
He said that the Force has, for a long time now, adopted a zero tolerance approach in response to reports of noise nuisance and domestic violence. However, on both issues, they are, sometimes, stymied in relation to prosecution as affected persons decline to give statements or evidence in court. As regards noise nuisance, often the complainant merely wants to have the music turned down or off and is reluctant to have the matter prosecuted, if that becomes necessary, as he/she does not want the noise maker to know that he/she is the one making the complaint for fear of reprisals.
Brumell agreed that: “This fear of reprisals also affects a number of investigations into criminal matters where victims or witnesses are reluctant to attend identification parades. This was the case, recently, with investigations into the murder of the gold miner at McDoom. The relatives did not attend the identification parade for reasons best known to themselves. Consequently, the suspect had to be released”.
He said, in relation to domestic violence, no rank can opt to settle any matter but must take the appropriate actions leading to the case being placed before the court.
“We have pursued an aggressive policy of training for our ranks in domestic violence in view of its serious effect on society, which has become institutionalised, forming part of the curriculum for recruits at the Felix Austin Police College,” Brumell revealed.
He said the GPF has also put in place institutional structures/mechanisms, at headquarters, divisional, sub-divisional, and station levels, to ensure the appropriate response to reports of domestic violence and that they are dealt with in areas that afford privacy and confidentiality.
Giving statistics, Brumell disclosed that the police received and dealt with 3,376 reports of domestic violence in 2012, in comparison to 4,979 in 2011. Investigations resulted in 1,715 persons being charged and placed before the court and 106 persons warned in 2012. In 2011, 1,652 persons were charged and 242 persons warned.