Chapter 7:

Protecting Our Citizens

Turtle can’t walk if he nah push he head outa he shell.

(Only when you courageously decide to change your reality will you be able to progress.)

            Guyanese proverb

The Breakdown of Law and Order
 

he current decline of public confidence in the police not only has a depressing effect on public morale but is also a disincentive to investment and economic growth.  We must move with urgency to improve our police system and its relationships with the community, building a police force that is stronger, more professional and impartial.

The breakdown of law and order poses an existential threat to our country.  Civilization is built upon the bedrock of a predictable, safe environment and a solid moral system. Without these, the ground upon which we stand threatens to disintegrate into quicksand.  Allegations about a Death Squad have sent chills among the citizens, and the deaths of tens of policemen in 2003 and some even in 2004 were a tragic chapter in our country.  

And as news such as this reaches across to North America and elsewhere, foreign investment is once again put to the test.  

The battle against individual crime and organized corruption is one that all of us—private citizens, police and government—must fight together.  This is because the breakdown of law and order devastates all of us. On a personal level, it destroys livelihoods and shatters lives. On a national level, it debases and ruins everything. It corrodes the economy and makes civil government untenable.  It leads to drug use, violence and a culture of anomie and despair, a culture that can be hijacked by unscrupulous and dangerous individuals.  It wipes away the meaning and quality of our present, and it deprives our children of their youth even as it withholds from them a decent future. 

There can be no true freedom when the streets are filled with violence, nor when the systems of justice are themselves unjust.  And in such situation there cannot exist the conditions attendant upon the institutionalization of free enterprise and the promise of wide-spread prosperity. Those who have funds to invest and businesses to erect will not choose to do so in an environment that threatens them with unlawful depredation.

Most of all, the lack of law and order is an affront to our basic rights as human beings. It is the right of every human being to live and prosper without the threat of injustice or violence.  Yet this right is routinely violated every day—and not only in the streets, but in the courtrooms and the prisons of our country as well. 

Just as Guyana banned slavery and then phased out the system of indentured servitude, so today must Guyana eliminate the conditions of servitude that crush so many of us and remove our hope for true growth, education and abundance. Freedom must throw off the shackles of tyranny. But at the same time freedom demands a structure of law and order.  Without that structure, Guyana will be doomed to poverty and failure. With it, Guyana can thrive.

A System in Crisis

Crime

rime has risen dramatically in recent years. As the rule of law has almost completely collapsed, particularly in centres such as Georgetown and New Amsterdam, criminals function with impunity, and the police and judicial system seem powerless to respond.

Armed robbery, car highjacking, home invasions, kidnapping, shootings—all of these have become commonplace.  In particular, businessmen and places of business have become routine targets of opportunity, with businessmen often picked out not merely for robbery but for murder.  So dangerous has doing business in Guyana become that many have left the country, and Guyana now faces an expatriate problem.

In company with other Caribbean nations, Guyana is a major port of transit for illicit drugs, and hundreds of millions—perhaps billions—of dollars’ worth of drugs pass through Guyana annually.

The police seem powerless to control the situation.  They themselves are intimidated, as criminals regularly shoot them down.  The police force weaponry  must be upgraded immediately. It is no longer safe to walk outside after dark, and foolish to carry money. When driving, one must keep one’s doors locked, and when passing through certain areas, one dare not stop.  It seems that the criminals rule the street.

Crime has become integrated into the country’s daily living pattern.  It is a malignant, toxic influence on the country that erodes hope, initiative and character. It causes a destructive, vicious spiral downward that can only drag Guyana into chaos and dissolution.

Rampant, out-of-control crime destroys the lives of its victims and destabilizes society. It generates fear and anxiety, fuels emigration, discourages the long-term investment that Guyana’s economy so desperately needs and compromises good governance.

What are the causes of this complex phenomenon? Because the topic is so politically and socially charged, one’s analysis is often coloured by one’s political and ethnic affiliations.

Many blame the crisis on a weak government. Others point a finger at the PNC, accusing it of protecting and glorifying petty criminals as “freedom fighters,” as well as seeking to demoralize the police service and to undermine public confidence in its performance. The PNC/R, for its part, complains of police brutality and has made repeated requests for a public inquiry into the actions of the TSS. The Government finally established a commission of inquiry.

 

The Judiciary

Inefficiency

Justice is a sine qua non of a civilized society.  Justice is the great leveller, making it clear that all men and women, exalted and humble, face the same bar, must live up to the same standards and must answer to the same scrutiny. Unfortunately, this ideal is far from actuality in Guyana, where our justice system is plagued by a host of problems, including inefficiency, incompetence, inconsistency, and unconscionable delays in the application of justice.

To a great degree, these problems are caused by a combination of ineptitude and lack of resources.

Some judges are insufficiently familiar with trial procedures, and often lack experience in case management—particularly in dealing with commercial disputes. Unfortunately, there exists no mechanism of continuing professional education to remedy this situation.

The judiciary is tainted as well by poor tracking of cases, occasional alleged acts of bribery, and police slowness in preparing cases for trial. In addition, no systematic record of court rulings exists. In fact, the most recent required annual publication of court proceedings was published thirty years ago.

In addition, the justice system suffers on all levels from a shortage of judges and support staff.  At present, 30% of judges’ positions are unfilled (a situation unlikely to change in the near future, for that depends upon the re-establishment of the Judicial Service Commission, which itself is dependent upon a decision of Parliament).

Courts lack even basic equipment, placing a heavy burden upon the implementation of justice. With very few court reporters and no tape recorders, judges must take their own notes on each case—a lengthy process that prevents them from trying more cases.

Trials can take years to be resolved. Sometimes delay is due to the actions of lawyers, who believe that it is in their own best interest to discourage the clients from settling. These machinations are enabled by the law—which provides a good number of mechanisms to delay proceedings, such as barriers to plea bargaining, part-heard trials and the granting of continuances—and courts assent to such delay on a routine basis. In the case of criminal trials, this means that a defendant may be incarcerated for as much as four years before his case comes to court (and if he is convicted, his pre-trial incarceration is not taken into account).  In the case of civil trials, a civil case takes five years to come to resolution. This often means that claims lose value over time. In either case, the inefficiency of the judicial system undermines due process.

A breakdown in the judiciary is a grave challenge to the integrity of the state.

When officials do not comply with the rule of law, that serves as encouragement to individuals and those in the business sector to break the law as well.  And when public confidence in the police department declines, public morale is depressed, and investment and economic growth are put on hold. The ultimate outcome is social breakdown and economic deterioration.

Corruption

Much more damaging than incompetence and inefficiency is deliberate corruption.

There is a widespread perception that the judiciary lacks independence and that judges’ decisions are influenced by the government. Contributing to this belief is the fact that judges are appointed and paid by the executive.

In addition, there is a widespread perception that policemen accused of abusing their powers—including engaging in “extrajudicial killings” (fatally shooting people who are being held in custody)—are not held to account.  Most often, such charges do not even lead to a trial.  But even when they do, the aura of corruption envelops the proceedings.  This is principally because these cases are heard by lower magistrate courts, where fellow police officers serve as prosecutors. Inquests are often delayed to such a degree that the case against the accused is significantly weakened. The almost invariable conclusion of such cases is the exoneration of the accused and their return to their posts.

Prison

When someone is arrested, he is brought to a temporary police station holding cell.  Although these are called temporary, in reality a detainee will spend an average of eighteen months to two years in this facility, and some have waited as long as four years! In 2001, for instance, over 40% of prisoners in the Georgetown prison (which holds 60% of Guyana’s prison population) were awaiting trial.  And within the total prison population, 30% of those awaiting trial have been waiting in prison for more than three years.

Prison sanitary and medical conditions are deplorable, particularly in these “temporary” cells. These cells are overcrowded, damp and bare, lacking the most basic amenities, such as beds, washbasins, furniture, utensils and plumbing facilities.  The toilet is nothing more than a hole in the floor. At night, prisoners lie down on a thin pallet on the floor. As for food, meals are not provided, so the prisoner is dependent upon food brought to him by friends and relatives.

One reason that the prison system is so overcrowded is that more than 80% of the prisoners have been incarcerated for minor crimes that carry a sentence of between one and three months. Thus, the absurd situation exists in which thousands of prisoners are held behind bars for up to four years before being given a sentence of three months’ imprisonment.

An additional reason for the overcrowding is that the parole board is reluctant to grant parole, because it lacks so many resources—such as the staff needed to monitor parolees—that it hesitates to allow these prisoners back into the general population.

Police Abuse

The Guyana Police Force (GPF) bears the responsibility for maintaining law and order throughout Guyana.

As in the case of Guyana’s judiciary, confidence in the police has largely evaporated.  This is because the police routinely engage in illegal acts. Police officers regularly search suspects’ homes without a warrant, for instance, and abuse suspects. Police regularly abuse suspects in custody or allow them to be beaten, robbed or otherwise mistreated by other inmates.

But the most serious instance of police abuse is the unlawful killing of suspects.  Most of these shootings take place while a crime is being committed or while a suspect is being arrested, and it is alleged that the government is reluctant to pursue such cases because of pressure from urban businesses, which are frequently the targets of criminal attack.

The issue of police violence is complicated by the background of ethnic separatism and tensions. 

In the past, the Guyana Police Force was composed almost entirely of Afro-Guyanese. At that time, it was particularly feared by the Indo-Guyanese population. 

Today, however, most complaints about police brutality and “extrajudicial killings” are lodged by Afro-Guyanese, who view the Tactical Special Squad as having been specifically created to engage in illegal activity and to target political opponents of the ruling party—who are, in the main, Afro-Guyanese. Between 1980 and 2001, of 239 persons shot to death by the police, 187 (78%) were Afro-Guyanese.

The circumstances described here are so bleak that it may seem quixotic to battle the powerful forces of crime and corruption.  But it is not, and we can face these problems with a determined spirit.   As we join together, we multiply our force a hundred-fold.  Although the work is not slight and the goal not easily attainable, we must view these difficult circumstances as our personal challenges.

We cannot treat these times as “business as usual.” At times of crisis, refuge in inaction ceases to be morally neutral.  The decision to sit on the sidelines has become a luxury that no one devoted to the good of our people and our nation cannot allow himself.

Rather, each of us must take an active part in the rehabilitation of Guyana.

Proposals
 

Law Enforcement

We must facilitate the ability of our law enforcement agencies to do their work properly. Our police must be given the resources and support that they need.  This includes increasing the number of police, raising wages, and improving their training—with special emphasis on human rights.

Crime must be attacked on all levels.  Penalties must be stringent, and crime must be prevented from the outset, with a program of neighbourhood watch groups and the installation of an improved infrastructure, such as bright streetlights.  As the newly appointed commissioner of police has stated, public vigilance is the duty of every citizen.

 

!          Protecting Our Citizens

"          Increase the police forces and upgrade weaponry.

"          Raise police wages so as to be more in line with the cost of living.

"          Give our police force the resources and support that it needs to protect and serve.

"          Improve our police system and its relationships with the community. 

"          Put mechanisms in place to build a stronger police force, with the aid of the civil society and all concerned.

"          Implement an in-depth analysis of the causes and impact of the crime situation in Guyana. Based on this analysis, create an action plan that will enhance the capacity of the security officers, with the aim of improving Guyana’s security.

"          Use technology to enhance processing of crime.

"          Institute harsher penalties for theft and drugs.

"          Improve basic components such as streetlights and stop lights.

"          Enforce a zero tolerance approach. 

"          Immediately appoint a special independent prosecutor to investigate cases of corruption.

"          Enforce strict accountability measures to prevent fraud.

"          Establish neighbourhood watch groups.

"          Set up awareness programs in all aspects of society.

 

Judiciary

 A great deal of work must go into improving the judiciary. First, in order to attract competent staff, legal system employees must have their salaries and benefits improved. More staff must be hired, including more judges. And an on-going professional training must be instituted. The entire system must be streamlined, with many cases treated by arbitration and mediation, weeding out inactive cases, simplifying court procedures and the like.

"          Significantly increase the salaries, resources of judges, magistrates and other employees of the legal system.

"          Improve benefits and working conditions in order to attract staff in the judiciary.

"          Expand the use settlement mechanisms, such as mediation and arbitration, by launching a campaign to ensure awareness among the general public of the benefits of such methods.

"          Review the backlog of civil cases to identify those that have been abandoned or are no longer active, and so can be dismissed.

"          Undertake an audit of the judicial system in order to simplify court procedures and thus improve efficiency.

"          Construct a legal framework for the expeditious hearing of cases.

"          Ensure a full complement of judges.

"          Increase the number of high court judges to 15. (This will require the Parliament to authorize a functioning Judicial Service Commission.)

"          Computerise courts, upgrade registry and support functions

"          Provide basic equipment in the judiciary.

"          Introduce a program of on-going education and training of judges and prosecutors.

 

Police Abuse

I support the establishment of the Commission of Inquiry into the death squad allegations.   The results should help heal the nation of this fear.

Police abuse must be vigorously addressed, under the aegis of a national oversight committee, and policemen who are responsible for such abuse must be made accountable.

"          Institute a prompt investigation of police killings and excessive use of force.

"          Take measures to ensure the prosecution of offenders and provide effective remedies to their victims.

"          Provide training in international human rights standards to all law enforcement officials.

"          Create a National Oversight Committee to implement a national security policy and address the problems of extrajudicial killings.

Prisons

 Prison overcrowding must be alleviated through innovative programs, such as providing alternative sentencing for detainees guilty of minor offences. 

"          Consider alternate sentencing for minor offences.

"          Create alternatives to imprisonment.

"          Release ill prisoners who have completed most of their sentences.

"          Supply the parole board with more resources and additional training.

"          Recognize female inmates’ responsibility for their children in terms of length of sentence and facilities for family contact.

 

The Guyana Defence Force

Although narrowly not a “law enforcement” agency, the Guyana Defence Force is vital to our country’s security.  Thus, this is an appropriate point at which to briefly deal with its challenges and offer solutions.

The dismantling of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) in recent years has rendered it incapable of protecting our citizens in time of need. In 2001 when the GDF had to deal with the CGX crisis in Suriname, they were not prepared, due to the lack of a modern force and equipment.  This terrible policy error must be rectified as quickly as possible.  Defence is the foundation of peace; therefore we cannot neglect this major component of our national defence strategy.

We must revive the soundness of our Defence Forces so that they can defend our territorial integrity and engage in humanitarian missions, reacting swiftly to crisis situations.

"          Establish a strong militia and a military based on an extensive reservist system that can be called up at any time.

"          Set up an active defence force consisting or a predetermined number of soldiers as a decided upon by the Parliament.

"          Establish permanent base camps with a battalion of troops in each camp at three strategic locations to monitor our borders.

"          Modernise the Coast Guard for national defence purposes and to protect our exclusive fishing zones.

"          Re-equip the Army Air Corps to provide aerial surveillance on our borders and assist in drug-interdiction operations.

"          Revitalise and expand an Engineer Corps to allow for participation in building homes, roads, bridges and any tasks that are deemed necessary. It is better to have a permanently skilled work force than to continue to employ expensive foreign contractors.

"          Revitalise the Agriculture Corps to assist in offsetting the impact of the GDF on the country’s GNP, and serve as a part of the training pool for youth.

"“      Create programs for the Army to generate revenues.

In Sum 

Guyana’s problems are many and complex. Even seemingly straightforward concerns begin to seem intractable when politics become involved.  Guyana needs goodwill, good laws, good men and women, and good resolve.  Most of all, we need to work to truly solve our problems and replace the rule of moral chaos with that of order, direction, justice and prosperity.