Judiciary must do more
Acting Commissioner of Police, David Ramnarine
Acting Commissioner of Police, David Ramnarine

—Top Cop says to arrest rate of serious crimes

ACTING Commissioner of Police, Mr David Ramnarine is of the opinion that magistrates and judges can do far more than they are when dealing with serious crimes.
He made it known he does not take kindly to people being allowed to go free after committing multiple serious offences during the unveiling of the Guyana Police Force’s plans for the Christmas season on Monday at the Police Officers’ Mess at Eve Leary.

“While we are doing well with our prosecution, in terms of arresting, investigating, charging and so on, but the deep concern is the conviction side of it is troubling,” he said.
“And that will always be so; across the world it is so, moreso in a system where there are serious issues of how good the judicial system is in terms of being able to bring those numerous convictions to the satisfaction of all key stakeholders,” he added.

Ramnarine had previously criticised the judicial system for being insensitive where the granting of bail is concerned in serious-crime matters. He argued that bail should be seen as a deterrent.
“The amount of bail granted in the court makes a mockery of how responsible people in authority should behave in these matters,” the Commissioner was quoted as saying last year in a statement issued by the then Government Information Agency (GINA).

He is now advocating for aspects of crime prevention to be improved, so as to make policing easier and less costly rather than having to detect and prosecute.
He said that the Force has already started moving in that direction, as within the last two years it has significantly expanded on its prevention strategies.

So as to give a clear picture of what obtains, Ramnarine said that in “A” Division alone, over 50 per cent of the reports they field on any given day has to do with serious crime.
Conceding that there have been improvements in the gathering of intelligence and the way crime is being dealt with, Ramnarine promised that under his watch, there will be zero tolerance for rogue cops.

“A law enforcement official cannot be sitting on the fence,” he said. “You are either on the side of law and order, or you can go on the other side.
“But you cannot be sitting on the fence; I will not permit it! Nor will the senior administration of the Force accept and condone such! You cannot be borderline!”

Underscoring how serious the Force has become with infringements, Ramnarine said there were 28 occurrences this year of junior ranks being involved in accidents that included fatal and serious damages.
“I have taken that conscious decision to dismiss nine so far,” he said, adding:
“You cannot be driving your private vehicle without fitness and insurance, or drunk driving and expect to remain a member of the Police Force. No! You have to go!”

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