We’re just not getting rid of that.
Those were the words uttered to THE NEW TODAY by a senior member of the Royal Grenada Police (RGPF) in reaction to last week’s front page edition that focused on sexual abuse and harassment within the island’s major law enforcement agency.
A female police officer sent an anonymous letter to our News Desk in which she exposed a number of high-ranking officers including some within the Police High Command of engaging in the dirty practice.
According to the senior member of the Police Force, what the person wrote in the letter about sexual abuse within RGPF “is totally correct”.
He feared that it would continue without stopping because the officers are allowed to get away with it too often without action being taken against them by the High Command, headed by the Commissioner of Police.
“What the person is saying to you there – that is so true, it wouldn’t stop and things are getting worse every day,” he said.
“That information is so true. That is just one you may have gotten because there are many, many others that always willing to complain (about sexual abuse in RGPF)”, he added.
The high-ranking member of RGPF indicated that a lot of senior officers are fearful of speaking out on the wrongs in the force out of a concern that they might be victimised by their own superiors.
The senior cop stated that he hoped the expose by THE NEW TODAY about the behavior of some of his senior colleagues will serve as “a catalyst for others to build some kind of mental strength to come forward” and bring to national attention those engaged in sexual abuse, harassment and molestation.
He cited the case of a current member of the High Command who is harassing female officers almost on a daily basis by trying to lure them with offers of lunch and dinner, as well as spending time with him at some of the top hotels in the south of the island.
He said the High Command member will get upset and seek to punish those who direct him to make the offer to his wife at home.
“…Once they mention his wife, he is getting upset. They will tell him, well you have your wife home, why don’t you take her out to lunch and he is getting upset about that but there is a lot that is falling victim to his pressure,” he added.
The high-ranking officer is not optimistic that the issue of sexual abuse within RGPF will stop anytime soon due to what he said was the reluctance by Commissioner Martin to address it as a matter of priority and urgency.
He spoke of having information that Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), John Charles had raised the issue on several occasions with Martin as way back as 2019 and nothing was done about it.
He said that he had engaged ACP Charles who indicated that he formed the impression that COP Martin “was reluctant” to address it for whatever reason.
The senior officer told THE NEW TODAY that Commissioner Martin is under a lot of fire in the force for failing to address sexual abuse in RGPF.
He said that a lot of officers have formed the view that Martin “is like an impersonator – when they say that they mean that he’s pretending to be somebody who is concerned and care but he’s not – all he cares about is himself.”
“Everybody now is in uproar,” he quipped as he made mention of the weekend article on sexual abuse in RGPF.
The officer stated that a vast majority of the rank and file members of the force are openly saying that under Martin’s watch “this is the worst the RGPF has ever experienced in its history.”
THE NEW TODAY was told that Police headquarters on Fort George is often used by senior officers as “the slaughter house” to engage in sexual activities especially at night.
The senior cop said that the regular hours of duty for a top officer is 8.00 a.m to 4.00 p.m. but those who are engaged in the nasty habit with their sexual colleagues prefer to work from 4.00 p.m. to midnight on the fort.
He pointed out that some of the persons who fall victim to the seniors can be seen coming up on Fort George any time after 4.00 p.m. to meet up with those senior officers for sexual purposes.
“They (senior officers) always make arrangements with people to come at that time to be interviewed because they realise when 4 o’clock everybody is going out so they have their free will – a lot of things happen during that period,” he remarked.
The officer also referred to an exchange he had with a Woman Police Constable (WPC) who came to his office to complain about senior officers from the rank of Inspector upwards.
“She say, sir, it has some of them fellahs in Khaki clothes when I see them my hand can’t go up because of what they are doing to her. They are required to salute people in Khaki”.
THE NEW TODAY understands that a policy on sexual harassment within RGPF focusing on the Caricom and United Nations models was discussed among members of the High Command but it did not reach very far.