CHAIRMAN of the Police Complaints Authority (PCA), retired Justice Cecil Kennard, in an exclusive interview with the Guyana Chronicle over the phone yesterday afternoon, disclosed the undermentioned information which he has learnt from residents in Lethem and Annai.Police officers are taking bribes not to prosecute cases. They are also not responding in a timely manner to reports, and are not doing proper investigations. Moreover, both general and traffic ranks are totally discourteous, and they fail to show up for court cases.

He was disclosing his findings with respect to his countrywide visits to communities to interface with residents and police officers.

The Police Complaints Authority Chairman is revealing these details a mere day after President Ramotar deemed totally unacceptable any situation in which ranks fail to show up for court.

Justice Kennard told the Chronicle that the issue of ranks being discourteous is no secret, since he has had several first-hand experiences with police ranks dealing with motorists and other road users in a despicable manner that needs to be addressed soonest.

Justice Kennard has opined that in the absence of an urgent remedy to this development, the police will continue to experience difficulty in getting their jobs done.

He said that when police are discourteous, citizens become reluctant to assist them in their investigations; and that, in turn, leads to a backlash where police are unable to prove their charges in court, as persons refuse to testify for the state.

The Police Complaints Authority Chairman will be moving into the New Amsterdam and Essequibo areas in the coming month, where he will be meeting with residents and police alike.
(Leroy Smith)