Police brutality
Editorial
On April 20 the Reuters news agency carried a story about the beating of handcuffed suspects by the police in South Africa which had been filmed and broadcast by the BBC. While many members of the public in that crime-ridden country were prepared to defend the perpetrators, the authorities were not. "The scenes of shocking disregard for basic human rights... [have] left me extremely disappointed and perturbed," said the head of the police service, George Fivas in a statement. A separate release from the police described what had occurred as "despicable acts of lawlessness" which were unacceptable and which had made a "mockery" of the force. Six flying squad officers allegedly involved in the incident have since been suspended and the Reuters report stated that a probe had begun into two counts of assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. In addition, a separate investigation was to be carried out by an independent body which oversees the police force. In the topsy-turvy world of Guyana, everything is a little different. Not long ago some shocking footage was shown on Channel 28 of a woman who had allegedly been beaten into unconsciouness by members of the City Constabulary. This had occurred, it seems, during the process of removing an illegal structure which she had erected on the City Council reserve. She was unarmed and heavily outnumbered, and it strains the imagination to think what she possibly could have done to warrant the use of that degree of force. And then there was the case of the alleged beating of women in Wellington Street, some of whom were pregnant, by members of the 'black clothes' police who went to search their home for drugs. None was found. Witnesses, who were plentiful at the time, have been reluctant to come forward, presumably for fear of reprisals. Less reticent were those persons - including a woman - allegedly beaten by the 'black clothes' police again, this time on account of an inadvertent remark about the tint on their vehicle made by a bystander. They spoke openly on a Channel 28 newscast about their experience. The beating of suspects and sometimes others as well is not a concept which is alien to the Guyana Police Force. The cases above, however, have caused more of a furore than usual, partly because they involved women, and partly because the President of Guyana, when asked about the first two, made some ill-judged remarks in response. "If women want to agitate and cause problems," she said, "they have to face the same police the men face." In the first place, since on her own admission she had not heard of the two incidents in question, she should have declined a comment until she had found out about the details, and in the second, she jumped to place both incidents erroneously within the context of the disturbances and elected to blame the women and not the police or the City Constabulary. Despite the fact that there is no shortage of evidence of police excesses, the Government, unlike its South African counterpart, has shown a singular reluctance to do anything about them. The reason may possibly be sought in the fact that the public perception is that this is a crime-ridden society and also an unstable one, given the protests which followed the 1997 election. The administration has been under great pressure, therefore, to take strong measures to deal with the situation. In a democratic society, however, it is totally unacceptable to turn a blind eye when members of the law enforcement agencies behave like thugs. As guardians of the society, the police above all others must adhere to the rule of law. Prior to her more contentious statments quoted above, President Jagan said that she was against police brutality. Unfortunately, however, from her latest remarks she gives the impression of both being none too well informed on the subject, and ambivalent at best about police actions. She needs to actually see the footage that the rest of the nation saw, and she needs to be unequivocal in her condemnation of police brutality, whether that is directed against women or men. Most of all, her Government should follow the example of South Africa, and agree to the setting up of an independent body which can investigate complaints against the police, since the one we have currently within the force itself is clearly ineffective. Only after that is done will the public be convinced that the administration is committed to eradicating police excesses. 
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