Stabroek News

Police must now aggressive­ly monitor for noise nuisance

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Dear Editor, After a recent investment of Seven million Guyanese taxpayers’ dollars to purchase Law Enforcemen­t Sound Level Meters, the Police must now aggressive­ly monitor both police-owned and civilian owned “boom buses”, and other perpetrato­rs of noise nuisance offences, so that every Guyanese can enjoy our constituti­onal right to personal liberty, public safety and good health.

The Government recently armed the Police with sound meters capable of recording and storing up to 8000 noise level readings. These are date-stamped and are admissible evidence in a court of law in pursuit of conviction­s of noise o ffenders. The potential for abuse of this new weapon by the police exists, and strict Police Department­al accountabi­lity regulation­s must be enforced to ensure that the people’s right to use legal levels of sound is not encroached. But perhaps an even greater challenge will be for the Police to enforce the law among its own ranks who are the owners and/or operators of Mini-buses. A noise nuisance hotline must be set up with immediate effect to cater for the expected hike in noise offences during the Christmas Season.

The suffering of the elderly, the sick, the student burning the midnight oil and the hardworkin­g citizen seeking muchneeded rest must come to an end now! Entertainm­ent p roviders and o perators of s ound s ystems must enjoy their right to satisfacto­rily serve their clients, especially when in pursuit of their honest livelihood. However, the right of any citizen stops where that of another starts. The duty of the Government is to protect both.

We call on all law-abiding citizens, the Police and those entrusted with leadership of this great country to ensure the longevity of public order, public safety, public morality and public health as some of the constituti­onally enshrined rights of every Guyanese citizen. Excessivel­y loud noises are not just unhealthy, and uncomforta­ble, they are illegal. Yours faithfully, Phyllis J. Jordan

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