ARE relations between the Guyana Police Force (GPF) and the citizens of Georgetown further deteriorating? Relations between the GPF and citizens have historically not been great, but judging by how citizens responded during last Wednesday’s shootout in Middle Street, one can argue that relations may be further deteriorating. It was widely reported in the media that large sections of citizens actually cheered when the now deceased gunman, Mr. Deryck Kanhai opened fire on the police during the stand-off.So, what can we conclude is the reason for this animosity between the police and citizens? It appears much of this animosity can be traced to a general perception amongst people that many of the police shootings which resulted in the deaths of what police described as ‘criminals’ were not justified. To substantiate this view, when the stand-off with the gunman was continuing, many people linked the shooting in Middle Street to earlier police shootings by making statements like “they could kill three men in South Road, but they can’t kill one man?”
During the K&VC hotel incident referred to on social media, the police confronted three men, two of which were shot dead at the scene, while a third died later in hospital. Shortly after this incident the police issued a statement in which they stated that they received information of a robbery that was to take place at the K&VC Hotel. They subsequently staked out the location and these three young men exited. Upon being confronted by the police, they fired on the cops, who fired back, resulting in them being shot.
However there were a number of people who claimed to have been witnesses to the incident, who proceeded to give a totally different account of what happened, claiming that it was in fact an execution. The initially surviving suspect, also denied that any ‘shootout’ took place and stated that it was an execution. He too later succumbed to his injuries. The Police Commissioner concurred with his ranks, stating that the shooting was justified – case closed. But the case was not closed for citizens who wrote letters to newspapers and on social media voicing what they felt was an injustice inflicted upon citizens, as well as a possible cover-up by police top brass.
Last week Crime Chief Seelall Persaud linked the men killed during this incident to a gang called the “Hot Skull Gang” which is allegedly based in Albouystown. However, relatives of the alleged gang members, including those that were killed, have refuted this linkage.
This was not the only shooting incident where the public felt the shooting was unjustified. In 2012, a young man Dameon Belgrave was shot by police in the vicinity of the White Castle Fish Shop. It turned out he was not even the target. This particular shooting led to huge demonstrations, where the public expressed their anger towards the police. It appears as if the K&VC shooting just added to that perceived sense of injustice that people may be already feeling.
So what are the implications of this animosity between the police and large sections of the public in terms of crime fighting? It is obvious that crime fighting will suffer, because the police need intelligence from the community to be able to effectively tackle crime. And if large sections of the public don’t trust or don’t like the police they will obviously not share this information.
It is clear that the Guyana Police Force have work to do if they are to regain the trust of the general public and become an effective crime fighting unit.