Benn condemns disrespect towards cops, but says their actions can be recorded

Home Affairs Minister Robeson Benn has clarified that members of the public have the right to record the conduct of police officers, and vice versa.

His comments were made on Wednesday at the opening of the Inspectors’ and Sergeants’ Conference 2025 and come on the heels of two ranks caught on video in a fight with two civilians.

In the video of the incident which occurred on Camp Street in Georgetown on Monday, one of the civilians could be seen using him phone to record the interaction with one of the officers, who then knocked the cellphone out of the man’s hand, resulting in the scuffle.

“I keep telling the police… [and] everyone, the public has a right to video and record police behaviour. They have that right. You can’t tell people they can’t video you… If they come into my office and they want to videotape me, they’re free to do so. And I can do that back to them too. We must not prevent people from taking our video, our pictures or the engagement,” Benn explained.

While admitting that the officer was wrong to knock away the cellphone, the Home of Affairs Minister, however, lamented the constant disrespect of police officers. He noted that officers are now being equipped with body cameras to ensure transparency and accountability of their actions as well as that of members of the public.

But Minister Benn believes that this is not enough especially when it comes to the frequency of disrespect of law enforcement officers.

“I don’t want policemen and women being beaten on the road. We’ve said to the Police Chief that the police on the beat, they must have pepper spray, they must have batons and they must have tasers. If we go to other jurisdictions, that is what a policeman on the beat has… So, we gotta work at [getting] this quickly.”

“I don’t want policemen being disrespected. Those who are providing the protection for peace and development can’t be beaten on the road, and we can’t continue to have the disrespect which we’re seeing. We don’t want to go out there and beat people [but] we must be protected… They must think twice or thrice before they attempt to strike a policeman. It should not happen. It’s a complete breakdown of law and order if policemen can be beaten on the road,” the Home Affairs Minister stressed.