IN light of incidents of armed robberies perpetrated by men impersonating police officers, Crime Chief Leslie James has disclosed that the force has since taken measures to enable the public to identify genuine lawmen.

Explaining the move by the GPF, he said at roadblocks set up by the force, all police vehicles will have “Police” written on them and the cops conducting the stop- and- search exercise are dressed in regular police uniforms with the relevant signs alerting the public of their presence.

The senior officer added that members of the public need to look for little signs first to determine whether to stop in the event an impromptu roadblock pops up; and if they are in doubt at any time, especially at nights, they could call police stations to confirm the presence of their ranks on the roads at roadblocks, since bandits use the cover of darkness to commit crimes on unsuspecting citizens.
He stated that they have had reports of several men posing as cops and robbing people after they would have left the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA); but a new trend has developed, whereby they have robbed persons who were on their way to the CJIA.
With that in mind, James asked that citizens continue to cooperate with the police, since they are mandated to execute their duties and they can stop, search and detain any person or vehicle they see fit while probing crimes.
At the same time, he encouraged citizens to be alert and report to the police while travelling if they see a police patrol, a roadblock or anything police-related to Force Control to verify police activities.
The crime chief added that the incident is a very precarious one and it has to end, but warned citizens to be alert and observant, so that if the need arises they would be able to take evasive action.
On August 2, 2014, a husband and wife along with a taxi driver were stopped on their way to the CJIA by two men, who identified themselves as policemen, claiming they were investigating an accident. The took them to a desolate area at Soesdyke where they were tied up and robbed of cash and jewellery amounting to millions.
The victims, a private school teacher, Latchmin Gopaul, her husband Lekraj Gopaul of Hague, West Coast Demerara, and taxi driver Parmanand Teekaram of Cornelia Ida, were travelling on their way to the airport to go on vacation about 11:00 hrs when they were stopped at Land of Canaan, East Bank Demerara.
The trio were relieved of local and foreign currency and the jewellery and cell phones they had in their possession.
A week before, Pastor Sewnauth Poonalall of the Good Hope Missionary Baptist Church was gun-butted and robbed shortly after returning from the airport with foreign guests.