– as president bemoans unit’s performance

COMMISSIONER of Police, Leslie James, said very soon there will be changes at the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) which is yet to produce a successful prosecution since its formation a few years ago.

James made the disclosure in response to comments made by President David Granger, who addressed the performance of SOCU during a radio interview on Friday.

“You cannot investigate crimes and allegations if there are elements within the law enforcement forces themselves which have been collaborating with the very criminals, if files are disappearing and if because of other forms of bias and don’t forget, the SOCU is a branch of the Police Force,” the President said.

SOCU is an arm of the Guyana Police Force established to investigate organised crime.
“Let me make it very clear, notwithstanding the fact that SOCU does comes under the Commissioner of Police and by extension the Guyana Police Force, SOCU, the prosecutors of SOCU, that is what I have inherited,”  James told reporters.
He said that since he became commissioner, he has been meeting with personnel at SOCU, including its prosecutors.

One of the notable cases which were handed over to SOCU was that of former Minister of Public Service, Jennifer Westford and her Personnel Officer, Margret Cummings. They were charged with being unable to account for several millions of dollars allocated to her ministry for conducting several programmes.

Although the matter was before the courts for a prolonged period, the two managed to walk free after SOCU failed to prove its case in court. There were plans to appeal the ruling but it is unclear if the government will go ahead.

According to James, while he understands SOCU falls under his purview, the prosecutors were not hired by the Police Force and he has been doing some work to revamp the unit.
“They were not necessarily recruited by the Guyana Police Force; however, I can tell you that as late as yesterday, I met with a few of the prosecutors and that matter I am currently addressing and I can publicly say that since my accession as commissioner, I have met with all members of SOCU and the operations of SOCU is under scrutiny at the moment and actions are being taken as we speak,” he said.

The President, on the radio programme, made reference to the fact that he regrets that attempts were made to bring people to justice but the evidence has not been sufficient to have convictions. This is not only related to matters being handled by SOCU, he said, but also murders and other offences.

James took over the Force in 2018 and was tasked with ensuring the former head of SOCU and his alleged mismanagement of the entity are investigated.

That has been completed and while the findings were not made public, there has been no criminal charges brought against anyone at SOCU for the alleged transgressions which were uncovered. However, SOCU head, Sydney James, was fired from the entity.

President Granger has noted the need for reform of the Guyana Police Force, noting that is necessary to address issues of corruption even within the organisation.