UNDOUBTEDLY there has been some degree of improvement in the conduct of members of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) in the execution of their duties in recent years -an issue of great concern for a very long time. However, the desired level has certainly not been achieved as yet and against this background, it was good to see that this matter attracted much attention at the recently held Annual Conference of Sergeants and Inspectors of the force.
Home Affairs Minister, Clement Rohee, alluding to the problem, said his ministry has observed that far too many complaints of unacceptable and inappropriate conduct continue to be lodged by members of the public and, during this year, corrective action must be taken to stamp out these tendencies, he urged. Rohee said no one would deny that the sergeants and inspectors have a crucial part to play in the day-to-day management of the force, at the level of the police stations and, in some instances, sub-divisions.
He said the extent to which they carry out their functions in a professional manner could have an effect on the way the force is perceived by the public.
Mr. Rohee is perfectly right; and it is because of this very unprofessionalism by some members of the force that members of the public generally have a negative perception of the police.
This certainly undermines the building of a partnership with the community which is so important in the crime fight. This partnership approach which seeks to build friendly and cooperative relations between communities and the security forces is one that is being encouraged worldwide; and this is logical, as members of the community are among the best sources of intelligence on criminals and their activities.
Gauteng’s new Police Commissioner Lieutenant General Mzwandile Petros in South Africa exhorts:
“Criminals come from the communities we live in and are ultimately someone’s brother, sister or friend. If we want solutions, we have to engage the community. That has to be the cornerstone of our strategy.”
If one were to visit one of our police stations on official business, the lax, carefree attitude and indiscipline have often been evident. Indecent and crude language, loud speech, disrespect by junior ranks for their superiors and the uncaring and crude manner in which some members of the force respond to members of the public would have been evident. On many occasions when people go to seek the help of police whether it is a complaint or otherwise they are left unattended for unusually long periods of time. Ranks would see an individual sitting waiting for attention but would not even ask him/her what help is needed. In fact, the disposition of some police ranks actually drive fear into the minds of people and thus they are afraid to approach police ranks which should not be the case.
The long- term solution to police unprofessionalism perhaps lies with the recruitment process and the training programme of the GPF. During recruitment of new members, there should be adequate measures in place to ensure that the most suitable persons are hired and in this regard suitability should not only include physical and academic attributes, but the ability and potential to develop into a true professional.
In our case one of the reasons  unsuitable persons may find themselves in the GPF is because of the shortage of human services. However, in that case a special training course should be developed for those who may have poor potential in terms of professional conduct so that when they become full fledged policemen/policewomen they would at least be able to discharge their duties at least in a satisfactory if not exceptional manner.