WITH the criminal justice system vulnerable to the rapid spread of COVID-19, maintaining the status quo could result in jeopardising the lives of those connected to the system.
As such, Commander of Regional Division Five, Senior Superintendent, Edmond Cooper, along with his Administrative Team, is advising law enforcement officials and the general public to adhere to the strict COVID-19 guidelines.
Recently, the commander and team conducted a ‘walkabout exercise’ in Rosignol, West Coast Berbice and its environs, during which they interacted with members of the business community and the public.

The commander, during his engagements, listened to the concerns of the business community as well as the public, and promised to address them.
He also reminded them about the security and traffic measures currently in place in the region.

Commander Cooper also stressed, heavily, on strict adherence to the COVID-19 guidelines currently in place, and advised all to ensure they wear their mask always and for them to wash and sanitise their hands often, in order to combat the spread of the dreaded disease.
In an invited comment, the recently-installed commander of the district noted that, in order to protect lives and wellbeing, the police will be ensuring strict adherence to the COVID-19 protocols using law enforcement.

“This begins with changing or modifying policing practices to make them consistent with public health guidelines to maintain physical distancing, which is essential for the health and safety of the public and of police officers themselves,” Commander Cooper noted.
He said the police must now apply the public health model of “do no harm first” in making decisions, from arrests to the use of force.
The senior superintendent explained that making arrests must transition from being a common tool used by law enforcement to becoming literally a tool of last resort.

“This counters the notion that the only way to hold someone accountable in our society is to put handcuffs on him, because putting handcuffs now has a different meaning, not only for the person whose freedom is taken, but for the law enforcement officer who has to come within six feet to make that arrest. We, as a society, must find viable alternatives to incarceration currently,” the commander noted.

Further, Commander Cooper said police commanders must make a lot of adjustment to protect their ranks from the virus.
“And we have learned over the years that simply adding more police does not equate to more public safety. It takes an entire community working with the police to sustain long-term public safety. However, the community must fill in the gaps that may exist with the reduction of police intervention—for example, increasing mental health services, drug rehabilitation, youth mentoring programmes, amongst other options as alternatives to arrests, or using technology to reduce the need for police physical interactions. In short, we must reimagine policing so that it relies less on physical interventions and more on community partnerships,” Commander Cooper added.

Additionally, the senior superintendent added that to reduce the spread of COVID-19 among police officers, officers should issue guidance to reduce in-person responses to non-emergency issues.
“They should instead reserve in-person responses for issues that present an imminent threat to public safety or instances where investigation or evidence collection is needed,” he underscored.