— Rohee, Brumell charge ranks to keep the place clean and be professional
By Michel Outridge
IN order to better serve citizens, the Guyana Police Force (GPF) recently recommissioned five police stations across the country, making them more user-friendly. Sparendaam, Beterverwagting and Mahaica police stations on the East Coast Demerara, and Providence and Timehri police stations on the East Bank Demerara received the kind of upgrades under the Citizen Security Programme (CSP) to enable persons making reports at these stations to now do so in sheer confidence and without being harassed.
Interview rooms have been specially constructed for that purpose, and this is coupled with an integrated computer system for timely delivery of information for necessary action.
The Providence Police Station was re-commissioned on Saturday last. It now has a more user-friendly environment, and the behaviour of ranks stationed there has allegedly been improved.
Khemraj Rai, CSP Coordinator, said the Providence Police Station is one of 24 in Region 4 and 6 to have been modernized. He said the Government of Guyana and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) signed a contract for upgrading police stations to the tune of US$19.8M through a loan, of which the Guyana Government had to contribute US$2.2M.
The aim of the upgrade, he said, is to make police stations across Guyana more user-friendly and a place where citizens can make reports in comfort, being at ease in the specially designed interview rooms manned by ranks.
During remarks made at the commissioning of the Providence Police Station, Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee said the newer social issues in society — in which persons are not talking to each other to sort out social problems, but have instead resort to brute force by taking matters into their own hands — is of serious concern to the police. Police stations now have to adopt a user-friendly approach to encourage citizens to make reports and let the police deal with their matters appropriately. The way to do so is by becoming ‘customer friendly’, with trained ranks to attend to such reports at all stations.
Rohee said that police can now attend to citizens when the latter visit to make reports, because the interviews rooms were designed to facilitate confidence.
Meanwhile, the Timehri Police Station was also recommissioned on Saturday last, and ranks there were also encouraged by both Minister Rohee and by Acting Police Commissioner Leroy Brumell to treat citizens well when they visit to file reports. Ranks were admonished to make best use of the facility, bearing in mind they need to keep the place clean and tidy, and to take care of the furnishings provided. Ranks were also exhorted to behave professionally at all times.