-aims to reinvent itself as a model institution
THE Police Force was in what Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee called an historic retreat yesterday which he expects will help chart the course for the Force to become an exemplary institution in Guyana.
At the opening of the retreat at the Grand Coastal Inn, Le Ressouvenir, East Coast Demerara, he said that for too long and too often there has been police bashing in certain sections of the media. “We are not naïve to believe that it will end, but we are sure that as the night follows the day, in the not too distant future, the Force will emerge as one of the most admired, exemplary institutions in our country,” he projected.
The minister told the group of senior officers, including Commissioner of Police Henry Greene, that the journey, which has already started, is irreversible and the government and some sections of the donor community fully support the process.
He said the retreat was historic in the sense that it will help the leadership of the Force better understand the administration’s view of certain national and international realities pertaining to the security sector both at home and abroad.
Rohee said his ministry and the police must work towards closer cooperation, and minimise, as far as possible, the areas of diversion.
The government, he said, holds great hope and expectations from those officers who will be assuming leadership of the Force in 2011 and beyond.
It also has high hopes from the young cadets who are being groomed by their superiors to assume leadership positions in the Force in the not too distant future, he said.
The minister said the retreat is expected to lay a firm foundation, and enabling environment for the all-round institutional development of the Force over the coming years.
He added that the retreat was expected to lead to a greater appreciation of the government’s policies in the security sector; greater cohesion in the implementation of those policies; enhance awareness in the law enforcement agencies in respect to those policies; greater focus and a better delivery and quality of service and protection to the citizens of Guyana, enhancement of the security environment for investments and mainstreaming and positioning law enforcement for enhanced cooperation in law enforcement around the world.
He said the significance of the retreat, too, was that it was the first of its kind since he assumed the portfolio of Home Affairs Minister, and it was called to discuss issues of interest with the leaders of the Police Force.
He said that although he has a weekly meeting with Commissioner Greene, he wanted to have an open discussion, and to hear the views of the senior members of the Force.
He said: “We are at a critical stage in the development of the Force on the part of modernisation, and as we modernise, every facet of society is also being modernised. For example, the financial architecture of the country is being modernised; the legal, judicial and criminal justice system, the education sector, the public health sector, the communication sector, the transportation sector and public safety and security sector… are all modernising through a total transformation taking place in the country, moving slowly but surely in the latter and the (Police Force) will pay a critical role in this…modernisation process.”
Rohee said the officers need to talk this through, and the Force has already been called upon, in the justice sector improvement programme, to bring a transformational shift in relations with the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) in prosecutions and representations within the court system.
Moreover, he said that with the establishment of the parliamentary standing committee and oversight of the security sector, the Force has to prepare itself for greater civilian oversight and scrutiny to enhance transparency and accountability.
He added that the Citizen Security Programme and modernisation of the ministry will see more robust oversight by the ministry of the force in the years ahead. (Michel Outridge)