THE City Constabulary Department, with a strength of just 173 staff members, will shortly be sending 25 officers on leave.
This did not go down well with Councillor Denroy Tudor, who raised the issue when councillors met on Tuesday for their fortnightly statutory meeting at City Hall.

Officer Peter Livingstone, who filled in for Chief Constable Andrew Foo, who was again absent on Tuesday, told councillors that while the officers’ absence will affect the job negatively, they are entitled to their leave. He said they would have indicated since in January in which month they preferred to go on leave.

Councillor Patricia Chase-Green observed that while all staff members fill out the roster, it is dependent on the department head to say if he can allow 25 persons to go all at once. If the council is not willing to pay the officers in lieu of the leave, then there is nothing anyone can do about them going on leave, Chase-Green expressed.

She also called attention to the fact that the Christmas period is coming up and that the administration ought to look into this matter and not the council.
Some of the officers will proceed on 21 days leave, while some will go for 14 days, and other amounts of time.

Apart from Mayor Ubraj Narine, other councillors who spoke on the issue included Alfred Mentore, David Allicock, Heston Bostwick, and Trichria Richards.
In a previous interview, Foo had told the Guyana Chronicle that the department was short of 138 staff members, and that it was difficult to recruit new employees because of several factors, including low salaries.

The Constabulary has responsibility for the prevention and detection of crime in Georgetown and has similar powers and privileges of the Guyana Police Force (GPF).
It also has the authority to prosecute persons for offences such as assault, disorderly behaviour, urinating in public places, using indecent language, encumbering the pavements and so forth.

The department also provides security for municipal markets, day-care centres, koker pumps and City Hall buildings, among others. Providing security alone takes up much of the department’s resources, Foo had once told the Guyana Chronicle.

The Enforcement Unit, which deals with itinerant vending and other breaches of the laws, is also very small and short of its full complement of staff.