The phenomenon of bribery and corruption has become so entrenched in the operations of the businesses and organisations within the private and, particularly, the public sector of Guyana that one hardly bothers to raise an eyebrow at the mention of such activities. It is merely the way we do business. If you want something done in a timely and efficient manner in any governmental office or department, simply ‘pass a lunch money’, or maybe something higher, and your business will be taken care of promptly.
We decided to take a closer look at this trend within the Guyana Police Force and spoke with several police officers whose identities will be withheld for their protection.
Dellon Greaves*, a former member of the Force who left the job several years ago, confided that taking bribes is a way of life for most officers, from the junior to the senior ranks, “Every single person holds a responsibility in certain cases and takes full control of those cases so it is easy for them to adjust a file or something to the benefit of someone who is willing to pay for it. I used to be in it. It was necessary to make a decent living. Everyone was doing it. I went in and met the system like that and I acted accordingly.”
Which brings us to the crux of the matter. Are police officers adequately compensated?
Another source within the Force, who is a constable, tells us that he receives G$33,942 (US$169) gross monthly which translates to G$28,153 (US$141) take home. Is it really reasonable to expect these individuals, who are invariably the ones deployed when a distress call is received to run out enthusiastically to face the bandits, who are well equipped with artillery and most often outnumber the police ranks? The irony of those with families being required to put their lives on the line and run the risk of leaving those families bereft of a breadwinner, while at the same time being unable to maintain that same family properly is not lost at all.
The incontrovertible facts are that, in the absence of satisfactory remuneration, a person will do whatever it takes to survive and provide for themselves and their families. This, coupled with the overwhelming power invested in a police officer, senior or junior, the temptation for wrongdoing proves to be definitively irresistible.
The stress of trying to make do on a paycheck of G$35,000 (US$175) eventually led to Dellon quitting the Force to become a taxi driver. Dellon says that now he sees the picture from the other perspective. As a taxi driver, he now has to deal with overzealous traffic police officers who are only too happy to give him the same treatment that he has meted out to others in the past. Although an investigative officer could make up to $20,000 on the side, a traffic officer would have many more opportunities for such, and often makes in excess of their salary, as much as G$50,000 (US$250) monthly, while a senior officer, who has more responsibility and control of more serious cases, can make hundreds of thousands.
We spoke with another taxi driver who told us that the traffic officers are more apprehensive about accepting payment from errant drivers nowadays and only give in after much pleading. He says that, in the past, a rag (G$500-US$2.50) or a towel (G$1000-US$5) would be sufficient to buy one’s way out of a predicament but these days G$3000 (US$15) is the least a cop will accept to look the other way, “They are all over the place. They set up roadblocks on the East Coast, East Bank and Kitty too. In one day about five different police will stop you. They take your license and tell you to go to the (police) station. Before you reach the station, another one will stop you and demand to see your license and tell you it is illegal to drive without it and harass you. They are a nuisance!”
Of course greed plays a large part in these happenings but honesty and pride in the job will take a back seat to need and want. The existing problem of escalating drug use and trade only exacerbates the problem and makes it even harder for even the most idealistic officer to maintain his integrity. How can we seriously combat the drug scourge when our officers are in the pockets of mobsters and even those who are not, are afraid to go against the system and put themselves and their families at the risk of the consequences of incurring the wrath of the drug lords?
Guyana Observer spoke with Traffic Chief Neil Semple and although he referred us to their Public Relations Officer, he nevertheless informed us that the Force has a zero tolerance policy on this phenomenon. While Guyana Police Force PRO Ivelaw Whittaker told us that all such information has to be passed through the Commissioner, Mohammed Jameer, head of the Office of Professional Responsibility (a separate entity from the GPF, which is tasked with investigating such allegations) told us that they have not charged anyone within the Force for corrupt transaction for this year, charges of which could only be instituted on the advice of the Director of Public Prosecutions.
However, an article by the Kaieteur News on Friday March, 2008, alleges that the DPP has, within the past two months, advised that more than thirty ranks be placed before the courts for various offences ranging from assault causing actual bodily harm to murder. According to their source, most of the criminal matters against members of the Force involve corrupt transaction. The penalty for this charge is two to three years imprisonment.
The Office of Professional Responsibility is also investigating the allegations against the Police rank involved in an incident with Robeson Benn Jr., the son of Minister of Transport & Hydraulics Robeson Benn. Benn alleges that the policemen, “pushed a cocked and loaded 9mm Glock pistol in his face while he was driving, slammed him twice against his car when he exited the vehicle, on their orders, threw him bodily into the back of their pickup while he was handcuffed, and put their feet over his head while he was being taken to Brickdam Police Station.” His family has subsequently indicated that they intend to take private action against the ranks.
In an impassioned statement Minister of Home Affairs Clement Rohee declared, “It is a matter that requires professional investigation and that is precisely what is being done.” He said that “Ranks entrusted to safeguard the safety and protection of the community and who are found guilty of dereliction of duty and bringing the force into disrepute have no place in the Police Force and must be weeded out….. Acts of police brutality will not be condoned and any such allegation will be thoroughly investigated. Too many Traffic Ranks under the guise of ‘walking magistrates’ have resurfaced. The demand for one, two or three “towels” on public highways must stop.”
However, the high-handed actions of the ranks within the GPF have long been a bone of contention with the Guyanese public and have led to numerous allegations of police brutality, abuse and extra-judicial killings with no satisfactory response from those within the hierarchy of the Force or the government. For the longest while public opinion has leaned toward the belief that many police officers see themselves as judge, jury and executioner and behave accordingly. The public put little faith in the Guyana Police Force either wanting or being able to, deliver justice for them. Most do not know of the existence of the Office of Professional Responsibility, and those that do, do not know enough about or have any faith in this entity’s ability to monitor and control the errant members within the Force.
Regardless of all the other factors to be taken into consideration, the compensation for policemen and women, both pay and benefits, need to be addressed immediately. The state and the taxpayers cannot expect to plant weed and reap corn.
*not his real name
