Police inspectors and sergeants must relate better with members of the public

Jan 24, 2009 News

Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee yesterday briefed the inspectors and sergeants attached to the Guyana Police Force on their roles in the force.

“You are the eyes and ears of the force,” said Rohee, reiterating that the inspectors and sergeants are the ones who are often in contact with members of the public.

With this in mind, the Minister said, the inspectors and sergeants are “strategically positioned to have first hand knowledge of any discontent or grumblings in your communities.”

“You (inspectors and sergeants) are also in a position to identify any issue that may affect the welfare of the ranks under your command.”

He identified a “number of issues that seem to affect the thrust of the Guyana Police Force to forge better relationships with members of the Public.”

High on this list was the condition of police stations, barracks and compounds. The Minister explained that he thought that inspectors and sergeants could do more to make sure that the police stations and other building under their command are better kept.

He underlined the fact that the cleaning of police buildings should be ongoing and that ranks should not wait for notification of an upcoming inspection before they cleaned up the buildings and surroundings.

The Minister said that he saw the need for more attention to be paid to the supervision of the lockups in various police stations.

“Too many prisoners have been escaping from police custody, and too many incidents have been occurring at police lockups. This situation needs remedial action,” said Rohee.

Rohee reminded the inspectors and sergeants that they need to respond quickly to complaints made by members of the public.

The Minister then highlighted some of the things expected of inspectors and sergeants of the Guyana Police Force.

These include ensuring that (their) police stations, barracks, lockups and compounds are kept in proper order, ensuring that all of the books at the stations are properly written up and all property accounted for, ensuring that all prisoners under their supervision are accounted for, and ensuring that law and order are maintained in the districts in which they are stationed.

Rohee said that inspectors and sergeants needed to take steps to ensure that their ranks comply with the rules and regulations of the Guyana Police Force.

The Minister also noted that there was need for inspectors and sergeants to be able to perform duties as prosecutors while being in charge of police stations, and he advised them to build lasting relationships with their communities, so that they would have the support of the public when they conducted their duties.

“The Administration of the Guyana Police Force has been placing much more emphasis on training. I hope that you will utilize those training opportunities to ensure that you perform your duties better,” the Minister said.

It was also highlighted that training would help the inspectors and sergeants deal with the changes that Guyanese society and that of the wider world have seen. He highlighted that, years ago, there was an accepted manner in which young people behaved.

Today’s youth behave in a manner which the Minister termed inconsistent with what was accepted years ago.

Due to this, law enforcement agencies need to employ new strategies to deal with this new dimension in our society, said Rohee. “You, as junior supervisors, have to be equipped with the necessary tools to deal with the youths.”

The Minister struck the divide between being firm as a law enforcement agent and being aware of the rights which members of the public have. “The respect for Human Rights must be uppermost in his mind when conducting his duties,” he said of the police officers.

In regard to the discipline of junior ranks, Rohee told the inspectors and sergeants that even though Police Commissioner Henry Greene constantly spoke about the issue of discipline, it was their (inspectors and sergeants) duty to ensure that the ranks under their command behaved in a disciplined manner.

He told them to lead by example, and urged them to always ensure that they complied with the rules and regulations of the Guyana Police Force.