Zero tolerance for police corruption

– acting Top Cop

Saying that the Guyana Police Force has been focusing on regaining public trust that has declined tremendously over the past few years, acting Police Commissioner David Ramnarine yesterday declared that the force would not hesitate to take action to rid itself of rogue officers.

“Gone are the days when we will tolerate a deviant rank, whether criminally or departmentally, and try to cover up… we will not hesitate to make the decision to let ranks go. No rank will be treated like a God unto his/herself or allowed to besmirch the force,” Ramnarine told a news conference yesterday.

He made reference to a recently released USAID-funded report, Democracy, Human Rights, and Governance Assessment of Guyana,’ which noted that that the GPF was the least-trusted institution in the country.

Public trust is a very broadbased and multifaceted topic, Ramnarine said, while adding that it should not be made an issue for the Guyana Police Force alone.

At present, he said, he has learnt that the level of public trust in the police stands at 24.3 %.

Ramnarine revealed that there has been an increase in court cases brought against ranks. In 2015, 21 ranks were interdicted for offences ranging from conspiring to commit murder to assault.

This year, that number stands at 24 interdicted ranks, for offences ranging from attempted murder to assault.

He said so far in this year, a total of 15 ranks were dismissed; six for corrupt transaction, three for narcotics-related offences, four for simple larceny and two for rape. This is an increase in comparison to last year, when 12 ranks was dismissed for offences such as corrupt transactions, firearm-related offences, a narcotics-related offence and assault.