Do not jump too early to conclusions

January 17, 2014, By KNews, Filed Under Features/Columnists, Peeping Tom, Source

The allegation that a young man was the victim of a brutal sexual assault while in police custody has gone viral. The reports have led to feelings of outrage in many quarters. But are these reports believable?

With the expansive reach of social media networks, the market for the spread of unverified reports is unlimited. This in itself is a danger, because apart from the benefits of mass information, there is the risk of mass deception also.

One has to be very careful when one hears allegations such as those that are being made about sexual assault, especially when all the facts are not known and more especially when these reports are being politicized.

The case was reportedly discussed in the National Assembly yesterday. During that discussion, certain information about the condition for which the young man is being treated by doctors was revealed. This information should not have been provided by the Minister of Health. Not even to the National Assembly; because it is privileged information and should only have been made public in front of an investigative team, tribunal or a court of law.

Because the information was reported on by the media, the public now knows what the doctors at the hospital are treating the young man for. This knowledge will add more controversy to the case.

Long before these medical disclosures were made, however, many persons had already made up their minds about what happened. That was a direct consequence of the story going viral. The faster it spreads, the less some persons seem interested in awaiting the outcome of the investigation launched by the police and the more willing they were to condemn who they felt were responsible.

One has to be extremely careful about these allegations. A final judgment should await the facts. If what is being alleged is true, then there is a serious problem with investigations within the Guyana Police Force and the reform process would be unable to correct this problem. If something of this nature can happen within the local police force, more so considering the past experience with a teenager whose genitals were set alight, then reform of the Guyana Police Force may not be good enough.

If what is being alleged is true, it will mean that foreign personnel will have to be recruited to man senior positions within the Guyana Police Force because of the crisis that the incident, if established to be true, would have represented. If true, there has to be sweeping changes at all levels of the hierarchy of the Guyana Police. Instead of reform, what will be needed is a complete revamping and the creation of a completely new force. That is if the allegations are true.

In analyzing the allegations to determine whether a prima facie case exists against ranks of the Guyana Police Force, a number of things need to be taken into consideration.

Firstly, it needs to be determined when the violation took place and whether there were any witnesses. By now the media should have been pursuing this angle and interviewing any witnesses to the alleged sexual assault.

Secondly, it needs to be determined how long after the alleged assault took place was the matter reported and to whom it was reported.

Thirdly, the issue of motive needs to be considered. Is there a motive why the alleged victim would want to implicate any ranks of the Guyana Police Force? This aspect needs to be looked at.

Fourthly, the medical reports need to be examined by whoever is investigating this matter, because it is from these reports that the investigative team will be able to make a determination as to whether the injuries sustained are consistent with the claims that a baton was rammed into the anus of the victim, leading to the rupturing of the intestines.

This is a case with serious implications. If the allegations are found to be truthful, then it has repercussions for the future reform process of the Guyana Police Force. If they are not, then some politicians are going to find themselves facing political fallout.