The Guyana Police Force would find it difficult to convince the society it is not operating in cahoots with the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) in their pursuit of political vendettas. The Police’s obsession with detaining professionals, who were hired by or are associated with the previous government, for as much as 72-hour reeks. The accused are not only in prolonged detention but are being denied basic rights to personal bodily requirements and having a lawyer present during questioning. These are not only undermining the professionalism of the Force but is proving the Force’s high command is operating based on political instructions.
The Criminal Investigation Department cannot prove its continuous tactic of 72-hour detention without being charged, though legal, is not an abuse. They cannot prove they are not facilitating the political hunger to publicly shame some, to witness the psychological lynching of perceived foes and make good on the pre-election threats. The Force would find it hard to deny it is not facilitating the desire for political vengeance, not law and order. This can be proven were a comparison drawn to former PPP/C government officials questioned by the Police during the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) Coalition Government.
When then former Minister of Finance Ashni Singh and then former Chief Executive Officer, National Industrial & Commercial Investments Ltd (NICIL) Winston Brassington were invited by the police for questioning they were not detained for 72-hour without being charged. They were questioned and subsequently charged by the Police. The same could be said for the then former Minister of Education Priya Manickchand, former Minister of Public Service Dr. Jennifer Westford, and former President Bharrat Jagdeo. None of the named persons was denied the basic right to have their attorney present at the time of questioning.
At the most basic litmus test of universal practice by a Police Force, functioning under two different administrations but discharging the same function, the Force failed badly. The treatment to citizens in the two scenarios is as stark as night and day. It is therefore reasonable to ask what the motivating factor in treatment during the coalition government as against the PPP/C government.
No professional Police Force in ethnic and polarised societies such as ours should want to be associated with inequality in treatment. It is of no advantage-except to the purveyors of discrimination and disregard for good policing-to function in this manner. If those who are alleged to be engaged in acts of impropriety or inimical to state, it is to the benefit of the Force to do its job professionally, yet it continues to leave much to be desired.
The Guyana Police Force is not reposing confidence in the citizenry, it is taking professionalism seriously. While 72-hour detention is a purview of function, the Force is found wanting in its discriminatory application which constitutes an abuse. Citizens see through the absence of judicious intent when known public officials are being held on Fridays for questioning. They know this is an excuse to have persons detained for the weekend because Saturdays and Sundays are not generally normal working days for the judiciary.
There is nothing other than political spite that would prevent the police from doing interviews and inviting the accused to return, given the circumstance. The fact that during the coalition government the accused were not placed in detention proves it can be done. It is the same Police Force that should be functioning by the same Standard Operating Procedures, yet the treatment could not be more dissimilar for the same issues. This is a fact the Force’s high command will have to reckon with. It is being assumed officers at this level care about the image of the Force, its role and responsibility to society, and would value the importance of protecting its integrity.
It should be asked, who in the Force is big enough, professional enough, to speak truth to power? Should Guyanese dare hope there is a high command officer capable of standing erect and advising the PPP/C the Force will not be used as a political football because it is established to be in the Service and Protection of all? It is felt by some that the re-assignment of the Crime Chief was strategic to meet the desires of the PPP/C. But for argument sake, if this is so, it suggests the integrity of an institution could be compromised in the hands of an aggrieved person, which speaks to an abuse of the office.
The Guyana Police Force is not operating as a national state institution but as the military wing of a political party. The utilisation of the 72-hour detention on those who served in the former government, or associate with the party in opposition, and those from the Guyana Elections Commission is a misuse of power, an abuse of the rights and privileges of the police. Reports of these excesses should be shared with the United Nations, rights organisations, etc.
