RECENTLY, there have been a lot of allegations against a few members of the Guyana Police Force involving financial impropriety, and crime. There also has been a growing concern about the professionalism and independence of the Force when dealing with matters of the public and a select few members of the business and private sector community.

Also, social media is buzzing with a frenzy of so-called ‘journalists’ and ‘investigators’ who serve up to the public for consumption a diet of stories about alleged Police wrongdoing from the comfort of their homes behind the safety nets of keyboards and foreign countries. This has led to the public opinion that the government is not doing enough to tackle this ‘huge’ problem of corruption, financial skullduggery and crime involving the police.

This and other reasons which are now a matter of public record, have caused the opposition politicians to take aim at the GPF, calling for the dismissal, and retirement of certain members of the Force’s hierarchy and an independent probe of the police.

Firstly, one cannot brand the entire GPF as corrupt, thieves and bad. This will severely affect the morale and confidence of those policemen and women who are not in any way involved in any action of corruption and skullduggery. These police, whether they are normal ranks, supervisors or top management, serve Guyana with distinction and to the best of their abilities. It is in poor taste to state that everyone in the GPF is taking a bribe and not doing their jobs.

Additionally, there is enough justification for the wealth that some policemen and women have amassed over the years. Testimony of this is the policies of the successive PPP/C governments that encouraged savings, sound financial decisions and other avenues available to them such as the GPF credit union and banking institutions. Many policemen and women are taking mortgages for personal homes, cars and properties while working hard to pay them back. Working in the local democratic organs across the country is a thankless job, so it is with modern policing in the Caribbean and Guyana.

So, painting all police as thieves and corrupt is wrong. So, the view that the police should not be wearing gold and diamonds proudly is wrong if it was obtained the right and legal way and not through ill-gotten means or proceeds. The GPF has undergone significant transformational change and reform. It is far from where it used to be in the early 2000s. It has developed a professional Police Force supported by the public and government that is critical but largely supportive of their agenda and fight against crime and criminality.

Secondly, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo’s comments on the government’s position on the spate of investigations into the allegations of corruption and financial impropriety are instructive and telling of the confidence his party has in the quality of work produced by local state and government institutions which are seen largely as insulated from political interference.

Jagdeo maintains the probe will be handled by the Special Organised Crime Unit and the Police Office of Professional Responsibility. This is a step in the right direction and skillfully pouring cold water on the APNU+AFC baseless call for an independent and foreign agency to probe the allegations.

After all, the AFC and the APNU+PNC can never speak to the issues of having a professional police force. Under their management, the police force was ill-equipped to fight serious crimes and there was a lack of resources. So, there were fewer police stations and officers. They were guilty of politicisation of the police force and setting bad precedence with police promotions. They kept the police in check with their police boys going to congress place for example to allegedly take their instructions on what to do.

The government is keeping a safe distance from the saga and the chips may fall wherever they may. If the assistant police commissioner or any other member of the force’s hierarchy is found breaching policing laws and breaking the laws, they will be dealt with the full force of law, it seems. This government is not playing with the law on money laundering and financial wrongdoing. This extends to politicians, police, and the public. If one must cut the legs out to make sure disease does not take hold of the entire body, then one must sharpen the knives and axes. This PPP government is pellucid, the leg will have to go!

Thirdly, the public has witnessed the deliberate double standards of both the APNU+AFC and PNC on policing and policing philosophy in Guyana. When they are in office, certain crimes are under control miraculously but while out of office the same crimes skyrocket astronomically. It is not a problem with the police, it may be another problem which is being discussed in the political world in a hush-hush manner. They want the public not to have confidence in police and are guilty of preying on the innocence of the victims of serious crimes.
These crimes have nothing to do with the politics of our society and the AFC and PNC are seriously reaching as they seek to play on the emotions of their would-be victims. It is unfortunate that this is happening. Instead of vilification of the police and government, give the victims’ families support and promise them that their party will do all that they can to get justice.

Fourthly, these few allegations from various sources are treated as facts by the social media so-called influencers who believe that they are journalists and doing the public a favour. The reality is vastly different. They are gaining fame and money off of the public’s views and shares. They are profiting daily as paid political party staff who are functioning as influencers. This is not to say that there is no truth in the allegations but they many times are written given a scandalous and salacious twist. It may sometimes involve malicious and twisting the truth because these social media journalists do not check facts and truth. These allegations, many times turn out to be false or grossly inaccurate, but the damage to the force’s creditability and integrity is done. This is inexcusable and disappointing. They are responsible too for breaking the morale of law enforcement agencies and the GPF is no different. They are playing politics but say to the public ‘my hands are clean’. The government needs to do something about this type of problem. Regulation and censorship are not the answer, but the answer lies in having strict guidelines and ethical rules for the social media so-called influencers and wanna-be journalists.

Finally, the police force has to continue its crime-fighting efforts because, regardless of their portrayal by opposition politicians, it is reaping the desired success. They should focus on instilling in drivers that the lawlessness on the roadways must stop and take some affirmative action where necessary. The police force should continue to function with a high level of integrity, financial transparency and accountability.

Also, those policemen and women who are caught up with police breaches and illegality, will be weeded out and dealt with accordingly, saving the good name of the GPF.

Consequently, there is no place for the politicisation of the police force in modern Guyana not by the ruling party and certainly not by the combined opposition. Policemen and women should demonstrate that they have faith in the law and State to weed out corruption. As opposed to just venting their anger, they should put their complaints at the Integrity Commission, OPR, SOCU and the Ministry of Home Affairs. The police are not the real thieves.

The politicians that are behind these crazy and ridiculous attempts at dividing the police force along racist and other lines are the real thieves of public perception and misdirected outrage. They are seen clearly as day and their motives are well known. Elections are next year. Talk half, lef half.

DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Guyana National Newspapers Limited.