IN just one month, 32 members of the City Constabulary Department stayed home from work, Team Legacy Councillor,Malcolm Ferreira pointed out on Monday.

With the department short of staff for the longest while, Ferreira, at the Council’s most recent statutory meeting, raised the issue of the “unusually high” number of absent and sick days that were recorded in a recent month.

He questioned if it was something in the environment that was causing so many persons to become ill at the same time, or whether it was simply an excuse to stay off the job.

Mayor Patricia Chase-Green responded that this seems to be a pattern in the Constabulary Department and that Chief Constable,Andrew Foo ought to take a grip of his officers.

The mayor said it is necessary for those constables who are stationed at the markets and outposts to be rotated regularly so that they do not have to remain at one location for more than three or four months.

“They become complacent and feel they can stay home,” she noted.

The chief constable had told a recent statutory meeting that the department is currently short of 138 staff members.

The Constabulary has responsibility for the prevention and detection of crime in Georgetown and has similar powers and privileges of the Guyana Police Force (GPF).

It also has authority to prosecute persons for offences such as assault, disorderly behaviour, urinating in public places, using indecent language and encumbering the pavements, among others.

The department also provides security for municipal markets, day-care centres, koker pumps and City Hall buildings, among others. Providing security alone takes up much of the department’s resources, Foo had once told the Chronicle.
The Enforcement Unit, which deals with itinerant vending and other breaches of the laws, is also very small and short of its full complement of staff.