– ACP Williams warns recruits; urges that they speak out against lawbreakers

FOR too long officers of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) have been “sheltering under the blue” and Assistant Commissioner of Police (ag), Paul Williams believes that the practice needs to stop.
“Do not use the uniform to break the law! Far too many officers shelter under the blue, but if you have seen it from your peers and you remain silent, then you are equally guilty,” said Williams at the passing out parade for 150 recruits of the GPF at Tactical Square on Friday.

He warned this latest batch of recruits that ignorance of the law is no excuse, therefore they must be objective and ethical in their practise of law enforcement.

Some of the key traits he urged them to adopt were discipline, diversity, partnership and capacity-building.

Williams believes that officers need to possess those attributes in order to serve the public properly.

“That, too, when serving the public there should be no discrimination as to sex, race, religion, ethnicity, sexual preferences and relationships…You need to show respect for all human rights and constitutional rights,” said the commissioner.

“The new recruits need to ensure that they have the requisite performance and knowledge to cope with the changing environment.

“In order to do that, you need to see this as a career path; we within the administrative level started where you are…remember the fundamental pillars and communicate with your superiors to seek help before making decisions that might affect the entire force,” he posited.

The new recruits started training in November 2017. Over the past six months, they were taught self defence, anger management, communication, English, combat and so forth.

They were also coached and trained on the introduction to policing, basic policing, the theoretical aspect of traffic and crime among other things.