COMMANDER of ‘A’ Division, Senior Superintendent Clifton Hicken admitted, last Friday, that the Guyana Police Force (GPF) is looking to the religious leaders for guidance in some aspects of its modernisation process. 

He made the admission while leading a team of senior officers meeting with faith based leaders who function within the Police Division.

Hicken pointed out that when it comes to morals and values, especially within the communities, the faith based organisations seem to have a better grip on those issues since they deal with them in a more personal way.
He said that the approach to have an interaction with the leaders of the faith-based organisations was that it was realised that at the alter alone is not going to help the process, hence the encouragement for religious leaders to find themselves in the streets and alleyways, as well.
Hicken asked the leaders to go back to their communities and identify the vulnerable young people who are misguided by wrong role models and work with them.
He emphasised that, should their current behaviour be left unchecked, it will pose trouble for the society in later days and possibly seeing them ending up on the wrong side of the law.
The Commander cited statistics and surveys done by the GPF which show that most of the young people who have found themselves on the other side of the law are between the ages of 14 and 20.

Changing times

Hicken told those gathered that because of the changing times and the ability of the younger generation to capture and retain, the changes associated with crime and the new dimensions to it, young people need to be protected from harming themselves.
He called for an immediate arrest, by the faith-based leaders, of the lost souls and give them the requisite guidance so that they are not allowed to broaden their scope of illegal activities.
When it was time for interaction, the views and recommendations of the faith-based organisations were many, the first being a call for the return of the Guyana National Service (GNS).
It was evident that the leaders were all happy with the new approach being taken by the GPF in its modernisation procedure and the efforts to have the communities involved.
They called on the Police to keep open the line of communication and interaction with the community.
One leader said it was not all right to blame the young people for all the issues and problems they find themselves in since this usually happens with the absence and guidance of the parent figure.
There was also a call for the Police to understand that the modernising and the community action component is effective, so those who are bent of embarrassing the process must be purged.

Hardly forget
One leader advocated for proper counselling of the new recruits into the Force since he said young people hardly forget the treatment they are made to receive and when they enter it and are placed in certain positions, they tend to act out what they experienced when they come into contact with members of the public.
Corporal punishment did not escape the radar of the religious community who have gone on record many times calling for its reinstitution to keep children in line, something most adults have said played a vital part in their lives and which is responsible for some of the values by which they live.
The ‘A’ Division Command team was advised by one leader that the GPF is doing a very bad job when it comes to press and publicity and the efforts it is making within the various communities.
The view was aired after Hicken spoke of what the GPF is doing in places like ‘Tiger Bay’, Albouystown, and parts of Berbice.
Pleas were also made for the Police to continue building on its image which has degenerated to a negative one in rating.
One of the reasons, said a female religious leader, is by ensuring that the Police stick to the standard operating procedures and the laws of Guyana when they execute their duties.
Presently, the GPF is working with several faith based organisations on reforming first offenders before they are sent to the Courts or remanded to prison.
The Force is working to provide counselling and other forms of guidance to the young people that will see them reintegrating into society as against going to rub shoulders with hardened criminals.

(By Leroy Smith)