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BRAVO ROHEE AND HIS MERRY BAND OF COMMUNITY POLICING GROUPS!

May 04, 2011 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

A supermarket at Montrose was robbed last week and as the bandits were making their escape, one of the robbed employees began to shout for help. A delivery van which was just about to drive into the supermarket made a beeline and drove off. Perhaps this had to do with the fear of also becoming a victim of the fleeing bandits.
The story, however, did not end there. One of the victims ran out into the street screaming for help. A police vehicle was passing and the victim ran up to it and asked for assistance. The vehicle reportedly drove off.
It is hoped that given the time this incident took place and the vehicle logs which are supposed to be kept at all stations, that the Office of Professional Responsibility will not have any problems in identifying just who was behind the wheel of that vehicle which it is claimed, was driven away from the scene of a crime.
It is also anticipated that the police will not have to await a formal report but would investigate based on the accounts reported in the newspapers. It should also be in contact with the victim who could provide details, more so since two suspects have been apprehended and the police therefore would be required to have a statement from the said victim.
Had it not been for the vigilance of a community policing group, those two suspects would not have been caught. It shows the value of community policing, which arose initially because of the deficiencies of policing but which should now be formally integrated into the system of law enforcement.
There is an acute shortage of police ranks in the country. There have been attempts to increase employment, but this has not been successful. Part of the problem is that the recruitment often targets youth when it should be targeting more matured persons. The young people are not keen on drills and being part of that form of training. As such they are reluctant to join the Guyana Police Force, more so considering what they are likely to earn for all of that.
On the other hand, matured members of communities are willing to serve as community police, and most do so voluntary.
The organization of these groups should now be taken a step forward in two respects. Firstly, persons within communities should be employed as full-time community policing ranks and paid a salary by the state. There should be two shifts, one for the day and one for the night, and they should be supported by a reserve volunteer force from within the community, so that in the event of a crime within the community, these paid ranks can call for backup and support.
The second reform should be the formal integration of these community policing groups within the official ranks. Each community group should be assigned a senior rank, who would at all times be with the full-time lookouts for the community so as to guide them and ensure that they act within the law. These groups should also be in communication with other community policing groups and with the police stations so that if a crime takes place, they can be in touch with each other to seal-off getaway points and enlist backup and support.
The Minister of Home Affairs, Clement Rohee, must be commended for the effort that he and the Commissioner of Police have put into these community policing groups. Once they are properly managed and once they have career police they will continue to have successes, become the solution to manpower shortages in the GPF and make the country safer.

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