By Mark DaCosta- In this, the second part of this series of articles, a more detailed examination of police corruption as a major cause of crime will be examined.
In his paper, Clear and Present Danger, security expert, Mr. Fairbairn Liverpool emphasises the urgent nature of the problem.
Liverpool writes the following:
“The Independent West Indian Commission in its 1992 report, Time for Action, called on the region to be active in promoting a more appropriate system of international security. It advocated that such a system would no longer hold the region hostage to the vulnerability of smallness or jeopardise its development through the need for major military expenditure. This perspective of the Commission is even more relevant today as crime and violence threaten the security of our citizens and their assets. Crime and violence have turned out to be clear and present dangers to economic development and nation building in the Caribbean.
“According to the United States Institute of Peace, Special Report on Police Corruption, Transparency International reported that the police, in 86 countries surveyed, were judged the fourth most corrupt institution after political parties, public officials generally, and parliaments and legislatures.”
Liverpool notes that crime makes money for criminals. The expert writes:
“It is common knowledge that crime in the Caribbean is not only money for our common variety street criminal, but also for the large legitimate businesses that venture into the criminal underworld by importing drugs and guns. Crime is also a money-making enterprise for the police who are corrupted by the big businesses and the very criminals they should be prosecuting. Additionally, crime is money for the politicians who are bank-rolled by these big businesses, as well as for the public officials generally who freely accept bribes. Finally, crime is money for the defense lawyers who defend the criminals, and who know the corrupt police, politicians and public officials.
This cycle of corruption and criminal activity is compounded by the reality of small societies in the Caribbean where everybody knows everybody. I once conducted an informal, conversational survey of various police ranks in four CARICOM Member-States on this matter. What was confirmed to me was that it was a virtual impossibility to have a crime committed without the knowledge of a member of the law enforcement community i.e., from a constable to the Commissioner. Two questions must then be asked. Firstly, why has crime not been prosecuted with greater success? And secondly, what can be done to reduce the systemic corruption at all levels which undermines the rule of law and the institutions designed to uphold the law?”
Mr. Liverpool has repeatedly underscored his observation that corruption at the level of law enforcement is the biggest driver of crime. It is also the most challenging aspect of criminal activity to root out because it is being perpetrated and perpetuated by the people who have the legal duty and authority to fight crime.
Perhaps at this point, one may wish to digress slightly, and examine the types of crime in which the police may be involved.
Corruption of authority
This occurs when police ranks accept free drinks, meals, and other gratuities, because they are police officers. Whether intentionally or unintentionally, they convey an image of corruption. In Guyana, the police asking for “money to buy a Chinese food” is a routine occurrence.
Bribery or extortion
This issue, prevalent in Guyana, is the demanding, by police, of payment for criminal offenses, to overlook a crime or possible future crime. Types of bribery are protection for illegal activities, altering testimony in court proceedings, destroying physical evidence, destroying documents such as “case jackets,” and selling information. Bribery is one of the most common acts of corruption in Guyana and other Caribbean territories.
Theft or larceny
This occurs when an individual officer or even a whole department steals from a suspect, victim or corpse. Examples are taking drugs for personal use or for sale following a drug bust, and taking personal objects such as jewellery or phones from a helpless accident victim or from a dead body.
While the foregoing list may represent the most common forms of criminal behavior in Guyana’s law enforcement entities, it is, of course, far from exhaustive.
Cover-ups are also common. One will recall the killing of Ricardo Fagundes, known as “Paper Shorts” in 2021. In that case, a senior police officer was allegedly paid $30 million to cover up the matter.
Regarding the case, a Human Rights report out of the United States said, “In August, police officer, Dion Bascom alleged that a businessman bribed members of the Guyana Police Force to foil an investigation into an execution-style killing of Ricardo Fagundes, a gold miner. As of October (2022), police had not investigated Bascom’s claims.”
Guyanese are well aware that our country’s police force is openly and brazenly riddled with corruption. The nexus between police corruption and high crime rates has been firmly established. And the correlation between crime and lack of development cannot be ignored. The clear and present danger to society posed by crime must therefore be urgently addressed if Guyana is to make any tangible progress.
In the next article in this series, specific recommendations will be explored in the context of the failure of political policymakers to implement them.
