Those criticisms of the police are necessary

Jul 29, 2010 Editorial

Criticisms are often not taken kindly largely because they expose the darker side or the weaker side of an individual. But there are experts who believe that some criticisms are for the greater good. These are the criticisms that they call constructive criticisms—they highlight the faults and suggest recommendations.
But generally, human nature is such that people enjoy stripping each other. Women criticize how each other dress or how they look; societies criticize others as is the case of Guyana and its Caribbean counterparts.
Yesterday, Police Commissioner Henry Greene was not happy that people criticizes his police force. He was at pains to point out that the good far outweighs the negatives and that people tended to pick on the little things.
His argument is that the police are always in the forefront of protecting the nation and as such they have a very high profile that they are bound to attract unwanted attention. He then contended that the news media have a propensity to ignore the major achievements of the police.
He may be justified in his moment of pique given that indeed the police have placed themselves in positions where they do challenge the worse and come out ahead. In the height of the crime wave they were so pressed that ranks were scared to appear in public in their uniforms.
In the end they prevailed as is always the case with the law enforcement and the villains. They hunted down notorious criminals, successfully, and gained the kudos. Indeed the Police Commissioner cannot deny that the news media gave credit where it was due.
More often than not, the sensational results would grab the front pages as has often been the case. Notable among the successes were the apprehension of the people who dared to attack a payroll on West Demerara. The police recovered every cent and the perpetrators are in jail.
The notorious gunmen are no more because the police hunted them down with the vengeance they deserved. The likes of Rondell ‘Fine Man’ Rawlins and Jermaine Charles dominated the front pages when they made the police look silly. They did the same when the police prevailed.
Commissioner Greene, however, cannot ignore that some of his ranks are people who operate outside against the best interest of the force. It was this attitude that forced the various senior police ranks to appeal for cooperation from the public. Things actually reached the stage where people saw the police as the enemy.
He cannot ignore the fact that the police, during times of heightened crime, adopted the role of judge, jury and executioner, to the detriment of the force.
However, those things apart, Commissioner Greene must recognise that in almost every country the police are viewed with suspicion. Extra judicial killings apart, they have been known to take the side of the criminals. This is not easily forgotten and often comes back to haunt the force for years to come.
The news media would be among the last to forget because such is the nature of the print media. It is often forced to investigate issues and incidents. Investigations sometimes mean looking back at past issues and since the bad is often more remembered than the good the negative aspects would most obviously be prominent. Bad news sells newspapers.
The good thing is that the police recognize when they do well and award those who excel. The very act of awarding the high performers would make the news. It would allow the media to recognise the work of the police, actually highlighting aspects of police work that would have passed unnoticed.
Commissioner Greene must realize that the media are the ears and eyes of the public. They are the watchdogs. Often, it is they who expose corruption within the ranks of the force.
When he said that eighty-six of his ranks are interdicted and facing criminal matters he should also be aware that the media helped him in this regard. They were the ones, who by their criticisms, identified the bad eggs and gave them the necessary publicity. We say that instead of being angry it may be to the Commissioner’s good to accept every criticism. The force stands to benefit in the long run.

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Those criticisms of the police are necessary

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