MINISTER of Public Security, Mr Khemraj Ramjattan said yesterday that he wants to urgently put on stream policies at ground level for fostering police/public confidence-building.The minister emphasized that police/public relationship is vital for moving and advancing the Guyana Police Force if “we are not to see one of them as a bully and to see the other as a subject rather than a citizen.”

Ramjattan observed that “lots of people see crimes today and don’t do anything about it. They simply do not want to touch the police with a 40-foot pole – they stay very far from them.”

He stated that to win back rule of law and order in this society would require some policies that are going to make the community win the respect of the GPF and that is at the ground level of the things he wants to urgently set on-stream so that they can have confidence-building again.

The minister said, “They are saying they have experts on certain policy matters that can help the new government and I indicated that one of the policy arrangements I wanted to get onboard has to do with how we can get the Guyanese community, citizens to build back that confidence relationship, to win back the support of the people. I have seen over the years members of the public do not trust members of the GPF.”

Ramjattan noted that with that in mind the question is “how do we win back support and how the GPF is going to do the things which are necessary for them to win back that respect from members of the public.”