THE disciplined forces may soon be subjected to polygraph testing in order to weed out dishonest and corrupt members from its respective ranks, according to President Ramotar.He made this statement as he reiterated his government’s support for integrity testing for senior public servants and other levels of servants within the public sector.

Addressing the Annual Officers Conference of the Guyana Police Force on Thursday, the President said: “It is necessary to ensure that (members of) the Force which is empowered with ensuring the safety and protection of citizens from criminals are themselves free from such elements.”

President Ramotar said that from time to time, persons who are being considered for, or are appointed to, senior positions within Government’s organisational structure will have to have their integrity tested.

Integrity testing, also known as polygraph testing, is a means of testing the loyalty and honesty of persons who serve within agencies of the Government. While there has thus far been no report for this year about integrity testing being conducted on public officers or at public agencies, between 2012 and 2013, several heads proverbially went rolling after polygraph tests had been conducted at agencies connected to the Government.

Some persons had protested the move to introduce polygraph testing, while others had refused to be subjected to this test, choosing to quit their jobs in the public sector.

With the President commenting that it was necessary to ensure the Guyana Police Force is free from criminal elements, it is not clear if there are intentions to have polygraph testing done more frequently on members of the disciplined forces.

Personnel from the Customs Anti- Narcotics Unit, Guyana Energy Agency, Guyana Revenue Authority and the Guyana Police Force were among those affected by the tests carried out between 2012 and 2013.(Leroy Smith)