As with so many things in Guyana today, the Police have not evaded the dirty politics of the opposition. In this regard a campaign is being waged as they try to demonise the force while at the same time deifying the criminal. This attitude of the combined criminal public and the PNC coincided with the accession to power of the PPP government when the term “police brutality” became a household utterance of the party. What should be of note here is that the police and the PNC held warm and loving relations prior to the PPP taking office. The PNC party’s flag was even flown at police stations as a caution to the nation as to who controlled the force.

In the new dispensation of things the role of the police changed to reflect work that befits a force, that is, the maintenance of law and order as well as protecting the democratic rights of the people. This infuriated the PNC because it signalled the severing of ties with a state apparatus that was so vital to the party’s upkeep. It meant the coming to an end of all acts of lawlessness committed by the murderous horde of the PNC at election time. There were also the high profile drug lords such as “Blackie” who contributed in no mean way to the coffers of the PNC. It also meant the tracking down of communities across the country. All of these actions of the police were viciously attacked by the PNC, the reason summed up in the words of one official of the party “the police have no right to arrest black people, they should turn a blind eye to the fellas, give the boys a chance.”

What is crystal clear now is that the force is up against it. In less than one year they have suffered significant losses at the hands of criminals; a police officer was killed in the precinct of the police station on the East Coast. A prison guard met his death in the recent jailbreak and we now have a senior officer of the force shot dead by one of the escapees. This is a very serious situation developing in our country, it is tantamount to a declaration of war on members of law enforcement. Strong action must be taken in the weeks and months ahead to stop this culture of lawlessness sweeping over Guyana.
Neil Adams