OPED: SOCU operatives violation of their sworn oath is criminal
Head of SOCU Assistant Commissioner of Police Fizal Karimbaksh
The Special Organised Crime unit SOCU is an agency like the Guyana Police Force Special Branch, (the intelligence arm of the force). SOCU’s operations and investigations should remain highly confidential because of the sensitivity of the information it handles and has access to.
SOCU is a semiautonomous agency that falls under the Guyana Police Force. Its current head is Assistant Commissioner of Police Fazil Karimbaksh.
Over the last three months, the agency seems to have lost it’s way, disregarding the oath of secrecy each member in that agency swore to and has now reduced to the likening of a commentator giving ball-by-ball commentary of a cricket match.
SOCU once was headed by an Assistant Commissioner of Police in the person of Sydney James. during his tenure, the press received intermediate updates on serious and sensitive investigations but in a way not to prejudice ongoing investigations or impending court matters. The same cannot be said of the SOCU we have today.
When SOCU heads an investigation, a multiplicity of agencies are involved. Central Bank, The Financial Intelligence Unit, the Courts, Government Ministries, Commercial Banks, DPP Chambers, and the Criminal Investigation Department, to name a few.
SOCU is actively investigating claims of financial irregularities against Deputy Commissioner of Police Calvin Brutus. A number of the agencies and institutions mentioned above are actively participating in the overall probe.
From then to now, all the leaks during the investigations thus far have been coming from SOCU based on reports in the public domain. Every move made by SOCU ends up in the public domain.
One can conclude that SOCU is not to be trusted, the agency, its operatives, and its operations are all compromised. SOCU’s conduct can affect collaboration with regional and international bodies because it is proving the agency is incapable of handling sensitive information.
Because of SOCU’s mandate, the head of the agency can approach the court for orders including but not limited to the freezing of assets, and details on banking and other information. A judge will more than likely grant SOCU the orders it seeks, on several principles, one of them being that the information that will be gathered or obtained by SOCU will be used for the sole purpose of its investigation.
Today information ended up in the public domain of an order granted to SOCU to access the bank account of a junior police rank. The information in the public domain spoke of the alleged amount of funds previously held in that account. The court granted the order and nothing was known about that, the bank handed over the information and nothing was known about that, SOCU got access to the information and the entire public is aware of that.
The leaks are coming from SOCU and SOCU operatives are breaching their secrecy oath which is criminal and they should be held accountable. You cannot break the law to enforce the law.
SOCU seeks to build against Calvin Brutus but that cause is already being tried in the court of public opinion. SOCU is singly prejudicing and weakening its investigation.
The implications for what is taking place at SOCU have far-reaching consequences. SOCU can find itself being slapped with multiple lawsuits for breach of privacy.
Finally, the police officers working at SOCU, are exposed to information at a lower level causing it to be leaked, what if you end up in the seat of the Commissioner of Police one day? can the public be assured that you are capable of treating seriously, and without leaking to adversaries, information that has implications for national security, stability, and peace?
