Dear Editor,
THE Stabroek News of Tuesday, September 10, 2019 on page 17, under the caption, ‘Broomes raps Bartica Police over call for help.’ Paragraph four and I quote ‘I heard this woman screaming for help in a different tone and language, she is screaming for help in Portuguese or Spanish and immediately I picked up the phone and called the police. I said, officer good morning, my name is Simona Broomes, and I am the Minister within the Ministry of the Presidency; I would like to report somebody is screaming for help just outside of my house in the bush in the West Indian Housing Scheme,’ end of quote.
The minister recounted in a Facebook live post where she expressed her dissatisfaction at the police in that constituency. Maybe the Honourable Minister was surprised that being a minister, the police at Bartica Police Station did not respond promptly, but being an ordinary citizen, this happen to us all the time, irrespective of the nature or seriousness of our report. At most of these stations, be it by telephone or in person, the majority of us for a long, long time have been dissatisfied with the Police response time. One would have thought that with the amount of vehicles and motor cycles and bicycles and the many boats the government has made available to the police force, there would have been a major improvement in this area. Those of us who are old enough would know that not so long ago the Essequibo Coast or ‘G’ Division, the four stations including the Traffic Department combined, had only about three vehicles.

Currently, all the police stations have a vehicle and the C.I.D. and traffic their own and also the commander, his or her own. So the issue is no longer transportation. It may very well be neglecting of duties by the ranks, both senior and juniors. Then Mr Freddie Kissoon’s column of Saturday, 14.09.2019, page 10 in block letters, ‘Police Ranks abuse Business Minister,’ paragraph one of Mr Kissoon’s column, Police Rank who abused the Minister of Business on the Ferry last evening suspended, because he was hostile to a Minister of Government, but think of how many times in each day of each year police ranks have harassed and mistreated the ordinary citizens of this country. Here again Mr. Rajkumar the honourable would be surprised, but should he be.

Mr. Kissoon’s observation and comments are statements of fact.
On the other hand, the amount of noise nuisance complaints made to police ranks be it to those on Patrol or at the Police Station, whether by telephone or in person, should you do an investigation you would be unpleasantly surprised about the inaction of the ranks, and I mean officers to constables. This situation has now reached a level that residents do not make reports of noise nuisance any more. Abusing of any individual by any person is unacceptable, more so an Honouralbe Minister by a police officer. I hope that the appropriate action has already been taken.

There was a time when any act of neglect of duty, absent from duty, late for duty or any form of indiscipline used to be investigated urgently, and a form A-30 Charge Sheet served on the rank or ranks in question, and if found guilty, departmentally, the rank would suffer the consequences of his or her action or inaction. For example from three to as much as 14 days’ pay deducted along with as much as five to 14 days C/B (Confined to Barracks) with drills. Of course, those were the days when discipline was the watch word in the Guyana Police Force and other military and para-military forces. I am not sure if it is the same now. While I would conclude by saying that what happened to our Honourable Ministers or the experience they had is most unfortunate, and must be condemned, by those in authority and all Guyanese, using strong language, the man in the street or the ordinary citizen may also see same as a blessing in disguise.

Regards
Archie W. Cordis