Latest update April 19th, 2024 12:59 AM
Aug 19, 2013 Letters
Dear Editor,
Recent comments in the media on the Guyana Police Force’s Strategic Management Department leave me wondering if certain destructive agendas are not in play. A reformed police force, operating in compliance with universally acceptable norms and ethical standards, will perform to the expectations of all who reside within a country’s borders. In Guyana’s context this means that all, regardless of race, political and social affiliation will be treated in the same way before the law. I started with the premise of questionable agendas because there are some people who see the GPF as a whipping boy to throw in the government’s face as one indication of ineffective governance. I can understand the opposition parties’ position. What is unacceptable is when members of the Force seek to undermine policy directives.
Editor, I have always held the view that Minister Rohee is doing himself a grave disservice by his claim that he did not acquire a university education etc., and by inference would give people the impression that he is ill-equipped to pronounce on law enforcement matters in any definitive way. I say this because based upon publicly expressed anecdotes, this claim has been seized upon by senior officers of the GPF who feel that Rohee is a dunce who should not be talking to them. I categorically wish to state that I have a dissimilar view. A KN letter “Not too late to polygraph all members of the Strategic Management Department” (08/17/2013) seems to be an attempt to articulate a position which I feel should apply equally to all members of the Force, including those who aspire to the high office of Commissioner. I am sure that members of the SMD, if they so desire, can better represent the department than I can hope to do, but if I am to go by what one Member of Parliament is reported to have said about the lack of cooperation with the SMD by senior police officers, then it is only fair that they themselves be subject to polygraph testing to give an understanding of their attitudes towards institutional development and reform.
I visited the Ministry of Home Affairs website to peruse the GPF Strategic Plan where I was informed that the police did not have the capacity to deliver on a strategic plan, thus the establishment of the SMD. Amazing!! Can someone point to a previous strategic plan which the GPF implemented and what were the outputs, outcomes, impacts etc.? I strongly believe that when faced with change, uncooperative people are more than likely responding from a position of ignorance, entrenched self-interest, and fear of loss of authority. In the context of the Police Force, this mindset has more harmful consequences for a public whose primary security concerns include freedom from the fear of crime, and the means by which this can be achieved. Parochialism and protection of turf mean absolutely nothing to them when faced with the choice of personal safety. But, what needs to be said is that when citizens are unsure of whom to fear most – an out-of-control Police Force or the usual suspects, then it is time for all right thinking sections of society demand responsiveness, responsibility, accountability, professionalism, effective, and efficient performance of its Police Force. Obfuscating those universal requirements by avoidance and gamesmanship will not fool discerning minds for very long. What we need are results, not finger pointing and inscrutable statistics.
It is not the SMD which is responsible for reforming the GPF; my reading of their principal function is that the department is there to monitor the performance of the organization in several strategic areas. It is not the SMD which brought the Police Force to this sorry state of disrepute where even its members are at times ashamed to be associated with that body. Reform is the responsibility of the GPF administration, which must ensure that its vision for a modern Police Force is communicated to the entire membership of the Force. The Force needs to get with the program and introduce ethics as an area of instructions; scenario based training is an integral part of any law enforcement training, as well as problem solving modules at all levels of training. From what I have heard, the current college commandant is suitably equipped to add value to meaningful efforts in these respects. I have not heard or read of the contributions the various senior players are making to the entire reform process. Do they even understand what they are required to do?
As with any organisational program, support from the top levels of the organisation provides the foundation necessary for the initiative to be successful by prioritising and allocating resources. Do they know how to utilise the available technical and other resources at their disposal, or are they only hell-bent on making Minister Rohee and the government look bad? Pointing fingers will not answer the prayers of citizens. Some of these officers need to get off their haunches, stop focusing on augmenting their income through unsavoury associations, and do the job they hypocritically swore to do. Finally Editor, let me share the thought that no matter how many courses some of us may attend overseas, when USA surveillance ends and they are ready to put hands on us, that’s it. By all means let us have the polygraph with no exceptions. While we’re at it, let’s go the whole hog and have asset declarations. Show us who are like Caesar’s wife among us. We demand a modern honest Police Force, no less.
Sylvia St Romain
Please share this to every Guyanese including your house cats.
Apr 19, 2024
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