Hicken urges closer Police, community ties

COMMANDER of Police ‘A’ Division, Senior Superintendent Clifton Hicken has urged members of Station Management Committees (SMCs) to focus on intelligence gathering, in addition to their primary objectives.He made the call after pointing out to the members that they are the ones, more often than the Police in the communities and have a better understanding of the workings and that connection with the residents.
The occasion was one of his series of meetings with the various stakeholders within the division as the Police focus on regaining the public trust and confidence.
According to the Commander, while the Police have their primary objective of maintaining law and order and serving and protecting the citizens, dealing with the communities is also part of the agenda but the Force has its constraints.
Hicken told the gathering of Police ranks and civilians that there is a need for broadening the scope of cooperation with the Guyana Police Force (GPF) to foster an even more meaningful and working relationship.
He said that the benefits of the SMC members gathering intelligence and passing it on to the Police will work out better for the communities in which they are based.
Feel safer
Explaining his point and trying to sell the notion of intelligence gathering to the ranks and civilians, Hicken pointed out that members of the communities will always feel safer and have a sense of responsibility when they know that they can share information with their community leaders and other persons with whom they communicate on a regular basis.
The meeting also dealt with the issue of absenting senior sub-division officers and station sergeants from meetings between the station personnel and the SMC members. That issue was raised by one of the committee chairmen.
Hicken immediately issued a directive that there should be a sub-division officer or station sergeant present at those meetings.
The importance of the presence of the Police was pointed out since there is very little that can be achieved in their absence as the operations of the SMCs is grounded in the involvement of the stations and their ranks.
Hicken also reminded the SMC members that their roles are to ensure, too, that the Police stations in their areas are working in the interest of the communities.
He said that it must be important and in the interest of all citizens within the community to ensure that the phones at the Police stations are in working order so that reports and information can be transmitted through that vital tool.
Among other issues raised by some in the gathering, especially the civilians, were the traffic situation along the East Bank Demerara and the physical infrastructure at one particular station.