Integrity tests will be compulsory for senior positions

 …as Ramotar signals fight against corruption in and out of police force

By Latoya Giles

Head of State Donald Ramotar (sitting, centre) and Home Affairs Minister
Clement Rohee (to his right), along with participating officers at this year’s conference

With the Guyana Police Force trying feverishly to restore the public image of that institution, President Donald Ramotar said that there will be integrity tests for certain officers who will be filling several appointments within the Force.

The Head of State made the disclosure yesterday at the commencement of the annual Police Officers’ Conference which began at Eve Leary. The conference, which comes at a time when the Force is receiving criticism on several fronts, was held under the theme “Continuing Modernization with Special Focus on Developing Public Trust and Capacity Building through Partnerships”.

According to the president, strong measures should be taken to fight corruption in and outside of the Force. He stressed that the leaders should be examples to the younger ranks. He said that this would help change the quality of the institution.

Ramotar emphasised that for appointments in the future to some senior positions in the Force, and into some new organizations which are being created, there must and will be some form of integrity testing. This is happening in several areas already, he noted.

He said that the Force has to ensure that ranks are free from any form of criminality.

In June 2009, four ranks from the police narcotics branch were transferred with immediate effect after they failed polygraph tests. They were at the time stationed at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Timehri. The tests were conducted in February of that year and the results were made known to the ranks. The police narcotics branch was the second local drug enforcement agency to undergo the test, following a similar exercise for ranks of the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU).

In October 2010, four ranks from CANU were dismissed for failing to turn up for lie detector tests. They had objected to the tests being conducted.

The controversial tests came under fire from several quarters with the trade unions saying that using it as a basis to determine workers’ integrity was not legal.

The U.S federal law governing lie-detector test stipulates that an employee cannot be fired for failing the test, or for even refusing to take the test.

According to the Global Polygraph Network, employers are permitted to request that employees submit to a polygraph exam under some specific conditions as provided for by U.S. federal law.

Last year, another exercise was conducted where staffers of the police’s Narcotics Branch and Guyana Energy Agency were among those tested. Several of the staffers attached to the GEA were fired. Some have taken the agency to task and have filed court proceedings against the GEA.