Dear Editor,

During the post election violence and destruction, I was shocked to hear some Indo-Guyanese describe President Bharrat Jagdeo as weak or incapable of ending the mayhem. A few went so far as to call for his resignation.

The criticism was centered on the Government's inability to get the police to do an effective job in the midst of what was happening.

Then came the deadly armed robberies that seemed to target one ethnic group and, again, people wondered aloud about the Government's response to the situation.

In the midst of these developments, the Police Commissioner came out with his revelation that an atmosphere was being created in which criminal elements were encouraged to violate the rights of others, perhaps, ultimately to embarrass and or bring down the duly elected Government.

To safeguard society, the Police Commissioner stepped up his anti?criminal campaign. The President felt relieved. Society felt a little safer. Then, boom! Three men were shot to death by police in what may be questionable circumstances. Others were reportedly shot to death, incurring the wrath and attention of the Opposition Leader. And now, eight people are dead following protests ignited by another set of questionable deadly shootings of three men in Corentyne.

The President now seems to be caught between a rock and a hard place as he tries to back the police against criminal elements and so protect society, but ends up hearing criticisms leveled against the police for their modus operandi in deadly gunfire with criminals. The buck stops at his desk.

It is unlikely the President will ask the police to relent, but with the growing number of questions related to these shootings, he may want to consider an approach that will make the police and, ultimately, his government come out looking good if more 'bad guys' have been taken out in the future.

Investigations by the police of police officers in such questionable situations are not always the best approach in trying to mend broken bridges or restore confidence in the community, because people fear the police cannot be trusted to police themselves.

But in Guyana, a small nation of less than one million people, one violent crime is one too many so that it makes no sense talking about crime rate in Guyana. If Guyanese feel unsafe, regardless of ethnicity, whether at the hands of the police or criminals, it is time for remedial action. But police action that borders on criminal behavior begs for a different approach.

So a Citizens Complaint Committee, headed by and comprising non-police members may be ideal. It will hear charges by citizens against alleged police misconduct and then forward same to the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Attorney-General and the DPP for action.

As for the so-called Black Clothes (called the Death Squad in Burnham's era),this "elite" police group should be disbanded. A regular police force is more than capable. The Death Squad probably was formed in the hope of handling difficult criminal situations, like kick-down-the-door robberies and killings, but it soon came to be used as a political tool against opponents of the then Government.

In the late seventies, members of that Squad used their gun butts to attack and pummel to a bloody pulp, without provocation, a group of young men 'liming' outside a disco in McKenzie. To whom could the victims have turned for justice? Others across Guyana have similar tales of the infamous Death Squad, perhaps renamed the Black Clothes.

What is needed is not a new name, but a new approach. While Government is responsible for protecting society with the help of the police and a strong, independent judiciary, its broad-based public support may depend on making the police actions transparent and open to the public, which it is sworn to protect and serve.

Government may say it allowed an investigation, received a report and is satisfied with it, or will take whatever actions based on the report, but that report must withstand public scrutiny. Meanwhile, criminal elements have to be ready for severe punitive actions whenever they are caught, because law-abiding citizens have a right to live free from fear.