Ramjattan admits some Police ranks lack training to deal with domestic violence

In recognition that crime, including domestic violence, remains an entrenched problem in Guyana, the Government is admitting that there are Police officers still not appropriately trained to handle such sensitive issues.
Minister of Public Security, Khemraj Ramjattan, admitted as much during an interview on the sidelines of an event with members of the media on Friday. The minister acknowledged that, as a result of this, some of his officers fall short when reports are actually made to the Police stations.
“It is always a difficult thing. Some of my officers are not aware of how to deal with some of these (cases) because they have not been trained on that. They might have a basic training on what the definition of domestic violence is in accordance with a law enforcement perspective. So some of them don’t have the capacity, and thus will be unable to deal with a situation like that,” he related.

“Some Police stations do not have that capacity. So sometimes (officers) go and the woman tells them, ‘Just a minute, that’s the man that (will provide for) my children’. So (the women) don’t want to testify in court after (they) would have filed (a report). All of these things cause hesitation, and hamstring the Police Force.
“But, indeed, every report has to be investigated, and that is now the instruction,” he explained.
The minister expressed a willingness to partner with relevant professionals, such as sociologists, to come up with a strategy. Admitting that study data on the issue in Guyana’s context is limited, Ramjattan said there is scope for professionals, including media personnel and sociologists at the University of Guyana (UG), to get involved.
“We have to do something societally. And I will be asking press people too — sociologists, and the people at the University here — to help in that process, because it is an extraordinarily difficult thing.”
“We thought that the more poor, or those in want, (would) do these things (robbery), and then we had a graduate who went to China (robbing) a bank. It is really something that is totally unusual, against the norm,” Ramjattan explained.
He noted that poorly developed anger management skills are one contributing factor to crime being committed. With this in mind, the Minister hinted that anger management could be introduced to the school curriculum.
Ramjattan’s comments came just one day after the brutal murder of a Police officer and the suicide of her alleged assailant.
The officer, Kenesha Sheriff-Fraser of West Coast Berbice, was attached to the Central Police Station in New Amsterdam, Berbice. Her murder follows a string of other victims who met their deaths at the hands of their partners.
“The domestic violence and the domestic murders are giving me some sleepless nights,” Ramjattan said. “Indeed, it has to do with a lot of contributing factors. Some (have) to do with parenting and how they were brought up. We know about that. We know about the nature of the depressed. Depression causes some of these issues, and I have been speaking to doctors and they indicated as much,” he explained.
“Relationships that have gone sour and people who do not know how to control anger (are also responsible). Anger management is something that we may have to bring to communities and also teach at schools. It’s a terrible thing. And our society is bleeding too much too often and with intensity. These days, that is not really a Guyanese society,” he declared.
Ramjattan said Region Six, East Berbice/Corentyne, appears to account for a large percentage of such crimes. Therefore, the minister noted the importance of, through studies, ascertaining exactly why this was so.
“I’ll be honest with you: I haven’t done any major study in relation to it, although I’ve been asking for some of the reasons from sociologists and doing a bit of reading. But it is not clear in my mind the cause, excepting there may be a lot of contributing factors. But I will try, we will talk to people.”
It is understood that from January to May, 41 persons were victims of homicide. Though worrying, it is a reduction when compared to last year.