Public trust in Police Force remains low – USAID

Most Guyanese have greater trust in the military or religious bodies than they do in the country’s Police Force, according to a recent study conducted by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
“Public trust in the Police Force remains low in comparison to other institutions,” the report documents, citing a 2016 Inter-American Development Bank survey on victimisation and crime conducted by the Latin American Public Opinion Project with over 1000 respondents.

The negative perceptions of the Force were shared equally between persons residing on the coast and persons in hinterland locations. Police abuses and excesses have been alleged by young urban Afro-Guyanese males, Indigenous persons, and migrants from Venezuela,” USAID has said.
It also highlighted that, during the year 2020, several Policemen in various hinterland locations were accused of rape. It was also pointed out that, at the time of this assessment, some senior Police officers, including an Assistant Police Commissioner, have been charged with fraud.