The police force is limited by resources even as it tries to cope with organised crime which is protected by huge investments, Crime Chief Leon Trim said yesterday.
Crimes like drug smuggling, gun running, `back-tracking,' money laundering and even kidnapping form part of the organised crime network, Trim, assistant Commissioner in charge of law enforcement told the members of the Disciplined Forces Commission yesterday.
The Commission is reviewing the Guyana Police Force and the other disciplined forces and will make recommendations to improve their operational efficiency. An interim report of its findings and recommendations for the police force is to be presented to the National Assembly by next Tuesday.
Justice of Appeal Ian Chang chairs the Commission which includes former Attorney General Charles Ramson, former National Security Advisor Brigadier (rtd) David Granger, attorney Anil Nandlall and Irish human rights activist Maggie Beirne.
Yesterday, Trim said obstacles in the investigative aspect of policing had to be overcome.
Ultimately, he considered that organised crime had to be dealt with in a profound and organised way by the police force.
But he said the force was "either not competent as a whole, not sufficiently empowered, or willing to undertake it at this time."
"So you make an acknowledgment that the force is not willing to undertake the fight against organised crime?" Bertlyn Reynolds, the Commission's legal advisor asked him.
But Trim renounced his statement and said, "the force is willing and ready to deal with the situation... but here again we need training."
In his examination, Ramson asked Trim to say whether the force was on top of organised crime.
Trim said partially, but noted that the force was hampered by poor intelligence gathering, an area which was currently being addressed by training courses.
"What about your capacity to deal with organised crime? Have you got the mechanism in place for you to justifiably say to the public we are on top of organised crime?"
"No, sir."
"And how long has this deficiency existed?"
"Shortly after the 1980s."
"And it still exists 20 years after?"
Ramson then asked Trim about the recent crime wave and the possibility of it being centrally directed by an organised body of people.
"Have you identified any of this grouping?" Ramson asked him after Trim had conceded that intelligence did support this concept.
"Are they are still alive?"
"Yes."
"Have you arrested any of them?
"Yes, sir. But there was insufficient evidence."
"Has the police been able to prosecute any of the so called `big fish' in these activities," Ramson asked in relation to arms smuggling, drug trafficking and back track dealings.
"I cannot recall. I don't think so... we are trying but we are limited by resources."
"Could the public feel comfortable that in the near future some of the `big fish' will be prosecuted?"
"We are working towards prosecution."
"You know who are the `big fish'?'
"We know a few."
"And I take it you have them under constant surveillance?"
"Yes, sir."
"Yet you can't catch them..." Ramson then asked, "The public seems to be very concerned about the operations of enforcement gangs outside of the police force. Phantom gangs. How many are there?"
"We don't know?"
"Have you been able to arrest anyone from these unauthorised gangs which seem to be performing enforcement duties?"
"From time to time we have arrested some persons but there has been no evidence to say that they are associated with any gang."
"Isn't it true that some known criminals wanted by the police, some of these wanted men turned up dead? Shot and left lying in some areas."
"Yes, we had a few cases."
"So it will be fair to say that these external gangs are assisting police in getting rid of wanted men. The Police were getting unsolicited assistance."
"We don't know whether they were killed by gangs or whether there was a falling out among them," Trim said.
"How would you characterise the current state of crime fighting?"
"I think that we recognise what the situation is and we are trying to equip our ranks, given the resources that we have, to be on top of the situation."
"How would you rate [your] crime fighting capabilities?"
"I can only rate it by output and at this time there is a 15% decrease in violent crime," Trim said.
"How would you classify your capability in solving the major portion of crime?"
"We need a lot more improvement in that area," he said, though adding, "we have a 56% success rate in solving crime at this current time."