President David Granger this morning delivered a stern warning to rouge elements within the Guyana Police Force outlining that there is no place for corruption and lawlessness.
Delivering the feature address at the opening of the Annual Police Officers’ Conference, the Head of State posited that corruption within the agency cannot be cured by ignoring it.
Referring to the former head of the Special Weapons and Tactical (SWAT) Unit, Deputy Superintendent Mootie Dookie, who is being investigated for alcohol smuggling, the President said that “Dookie’s law teaches that if corruption is concealed, it will continue, transferring a corrupt officer from one branch to another, or posting him from one division to another, or promoting him or demoting him from one rank to another cannot guarantee that he will change his wicked ways.”
He added that a force contaminated by corruption cannot ensure the security of citizens.
According to the President, senior officers turning a blind eye to corruption puts the lives of not only honest police ranks on the line but that of the public as well.
Nevertheless, he said that the Security Sector Reform, which his Administration is yet to implement, will seek to tackle this issue that is plaguing the country’s premier law enforcement agency.
He further noted that the reforms will also incorporate the lessons gathered from the inquiries into past mass killings during the “troubled periods”, starting with the Lindo Creek massacre.
“The inquires are intended to improve the Forces Administration and operationalisation, they are not intended to demoralise or destabilise the Force…the authorities at that time instead of trying to cure the cause were more concerned with concealing the symptoms. The Force cannot change if old attitudes persist, the causes and continuation of criminal violence in Guyana must be ascertained” said Granger.
He went on to note that the Security Sector Reform is no political gimmick and will seek to transform the Force.
