Dear Editor,

IT’S with great amusement that I read the extracts from the Acting Police Commissioner, but I am somewhat at a loss or believe he’s probably just making a speech to impress people who show an interest.

Here we have an acting (for quite a while) commissioner who is quite vocal in the media, and from all indications, seems to have a no-nonsense attitude to the police officers and is very committed to ridding the Force of embarrassment.

But for me, for someone to transfer senior officers whom I believe are very efficient, based on my observations, because they wouldn’t turn a blind eye on lawlessness, is just waste of time and space in the media.

The public is hearing that officers responsible for causing damage to the Force’s vehicles will have to pay, and we all know that many officers are very much into taking bribes. So, would any investigation be carried out on their financial position whilst they are paying, to see if it affects them and they would be more cautious of their actions, or they don’t mind because they are getting paid somewhere else?

Editor, almost at any police station you go to make a report, if you don’t have taxi money to take the officers to and fro, don’t go, because the Force never has vehicle available. For the longest while, we have been hearing about the Force going after those of its members with tinted vehicles but it seems the instructions are not effective beyond the lips that is issuing the directive, because to date, many officers in and out of uniform could be seen in vehicles with tinted windows traversing the streets or even parked in the compounds of police stations countrywide.

Again, bribes are still being paid to officers a lot, but are they afraid of the warnings being issued? I guess not, even though the warnings are being issued regularly and many are being caught, which, to my view, would have been ducked if we didn’t have an effective media and vigilant public with access to social media.

Sadly, the bribery is very much prevalent, but now the stakes are very much higher with the excuse that things are getting tighter.

Finally Editor, apart from all his glorious speeches, I haven’t really seen any plans being proposed by the Acting Commissioner to combat crime, especially the worrisome robberies being committed daily at the car parks, especially at Stabroek.
These crimes are being committed blatantly in the full view of many people and not a thing is being done. I guess it’s impossible to assign plain-clothes officers to these parks; let them talk to the taxis and minibus operators, and I am sure some of them would gladly point out some of the regular crooks and their gangs, and simply monitor them until they commit their crime.

The Stabroek area is not a complicated place; if the main entrances are monitored, I am quite sure they would be caught, because there are known exits these criminals use after committing a crime. Similarly, the Chief Constable is forever complaining and passing the buck, but responsibility also seems to be lacking of effective leadership and they seem to be casting the blame on others when in fact they seem incapable of performing their duties.

Look how many years people have been complaining of the illegal activities being conducted at the eastern gates, where the buying and selling of stolen articles, the using and selling of illicit substances and in some case robberies are being committed. Can’t these two men work together and try eradicating this daily embarrassment, because the last time I checked, tourists seem to be the main attraction for these criminals.

Regards
SAHADEO BATES