THERE are standard operating procedures (SOPs) which the Guyana Police Force operates by, and which should be followed at all times.

When criminals or accused persons are being taken to court, or are being escorted from the court to various holding facilities, they should be handcuffed; and anything contrary to that is simply a breach of the SOP which ought not to be.
This is according to Crime Chief Seelall Persaud in answer to a question from a Meten-Meer- Zorg resident who expressed concern about a photograph that appeared in the print media recently. The photo showed a heavily built man being taken to court under the supervision of a police officer, but the prisoner was not handcuffed.
The resident said that based on the photograph, the prisoner seemed powerful enough to overpower the police rank who was escorting him. After listening to the concerns, Commissioner of Police, Leroy Brumell said that from now on there should be no escorting of murder accused and other high-profile criminals to court by a police officer below the rank of inspector.
“I don’t want to hear this nonsense of a Sergeant or Lance Corporal escorting a murder accused or high profile criminal to court,” Brumell told the gathering at the Meten-Meer- Zorg primary School on Sunday.
He and other senior police officers were at the time attending a community outreach organised by the D Division which has responsibility for the West Coast of Demerara.
Brumell warned that anytime he received any information that prisoners are receiving preferential treatment that is not wearing handcuffs, while being shuttle to and from court, those responsible will be dealt with accordingly.
Over the years there have been cases where prisoners turning up for court were observed with no handcuffs. The practice has over the year angered relatives of victims of various crimes when they see accused walking freely and seemingly friendly with the escorting officers.
The issue of the covering the faces of accused persons, especially child molesters, was also brought up. One female expressed the view that there should be a system that prevents these persons from covering their faces when making court appearances, as it puts society at risk.
The same goes for murder and robbery accused, the woman said, “We need to know who are living in our communities and we need to see their faces” the woman told the Commissioner of Police. She said that once these persons are known, it gives the communities an advantage of being able to keep an eye on them.
In the past there have even been cases where policemen themselves provide human shields and give the accused materials for covering their faces, especially when the accused are policemen.