How big a challenge is the Modernisation of the Guyana Police Force?

Jun 09, 2013 News

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Senior reporter Dale Andrews’s exclusive interview with Patrick Mentore, Head, Strategic Management Department

The Head of the Strategic Management Department that is overlooking the Guyana Police Force’s strategic development plan, Patrick Mentore, believes that changing an ingrained organisational culture that has been in place for decades will not happen overnight.
He is convinced that if given the time, the unit could achieve its task of transforming the force into a modern police entity.
Last week he sat down with Senior Reporter Dale Andrews for an exclusive interview on how the

unit plans to achieve its goals.
KN: Mr. Mentore we at Kaieteur News welcome you to what is unarguably one of the toughest jobs in the Guyana Police Force at this juncture of that organisation’s history.  No doubt you have been following the events of the last few weeks and the comments from various quarters with respect to the expectations the public has of this newly established Strategic Management Department.
Maybe you can shed some light on the reason for forming a Strategic Management Department, and why it was deemed necessary to staff the SMD with civilians.
PM: The Guyana Police Force in consultation with international consultants developed a five-year Strategic Plan, which is now in Year One of its implementation phase.  The SMD came into being with the employment of 10 civilians on May 2, 2013; if you are looking at an implementation year as a calendar year then you can see immediately that we are behind schedule.
Let me point to an observation made by Julian Laite consultancy which was that the Force did not have the capacity or processes to drive through the desired changes.  This was given as partial reason to the GPF’s failure to do much in the way of strategy implementation.
With regard to civilian involvement in the implementation process – these are all persons from varied academic disciplines which will be complementary at this critical phase.  We have been together just over one month and already I have seen signs of a cohesive team focused on delivering.  And therefore I am on solid ground when I say that with a high level of commitment and dedication, and a coming together of all parties, including sworn and unsworn members of the GPF-and don’t let’s fool ourselves; we are members of the Force- and our external stakeholders we can achieve the objectives of the strategic plan.
KN: The general public has been hearing a lot of the strategic plan but there seems little that is out there which informs on what citizens can expect of the document; in other words what can I expect in terms of behavioural change on the part of the police in their dealings with members of the public?
PM: I am inclined to agree with you because in our interactions to derive a baseline of attitudes, knowledge, and performance we came across participants at the probationer level at the police college who said that they only knew of the strategic plan during a course.  It means, therefore, that we have a lot of work to do to ensure that not only the public but that all ranks are aware of what the GPF intends to achieve and the ensuing benefits that will likely accrue to the satisfaction of all.
What can members of the public expect from the plan?  We all can expect a body of men and women who are properly trained, resourced and equipped to provide services in keeping with universal standards; a body whose members’ appearance, conduct and attitude are irreproachable.

These are operational priorities; developing our people; developing partnerships; performance; and infrastructure.
KN: So how does modernization of the GPF relate to the concept of police reform; do you see any disconnect between the Force’s vision and public expectations?
PM: No! The strategic plan vision for the Force can best be summarized as the recruitment and development of suitably qualified people who will perform to the public’s expectations insofar as they relate to professionalism and accountability.  With regard to reform and modernization, the interventions envisaged will reflect considerations of professional knowledge and skills development; effective, efficient and ethical performance; and attitude when dealing with the public.  So there really is no disconnect between the two concepts; if anything they complement each other in the general scheme of things.
KN: On a personal note, some concerns have been raised regarding your objectivity in successfully implementing the strategic plan; these arise from your past association with the Force.  Are these fears justified, and what reassurances would you give to alleviate those concerns?
PM: I am not sure that anyone can alleviate concerns of the type you mention, particularly when minds seem to have been made up.  But let me say this, anyone remotely familiar with me knows that although I am an avid team player, I remain an independent thinker.  I have also undeservedly been described as controversial and radical with all their negative connotations, and I think that you would agree that in monolithic organisations steeped in groupthink this characteristic is taboo and likely to get one ostracised.
Suffice it to say that the availability of institutional knowledge at the outset of our engagement saved a lot of time in terms of the familiarization process. However, not to make too fine a point, I invite anyone who has not yet rushed to judgment to do an online perusal of my contributions before determining my subjectivity or otherwise.
KN: Recently the Minister of Home Affairs was publicly critical of the performance of the GPF; he is even on record as saying that he will be monitoring the work of the SMD.  Does this level of supervision create any undue pressure on the department?
PM: I don’t think that the Minister’s concerns can be treated casually; after all, he has a boss to whom he is accountable from a policy perspective and is therefore expected to give due consideration to public security issues. What seems to merit serious consideration though is the question of whether we have allowed things to get so far out of hand that radical action seems to be the only acceptable option.
KN: What has the SMD achieved since commencing its operations?  As a matter of fact no one seemed to know where the SMD was located when we were trying to make contact to have this interview.
PM: The department was housed temporarily at the Officers’ Mess; we have been in occupancy in the Commissioner’s Office Complex for the past two weeks. That, notwithstanding, we were able to do considerable work in the intervening period including systems and processes audits of several departments and sections to derive knowledge, skill and performance baselines.  These involved interviewing senior functionaries, and administering questionnaires and analyses.
An important element in implementation is the utilization of a results-oriented model which emphasises monitoring and measuring performance with reference to key performance indicators.  What this means is that our focus will be on effective planning and introduction of new approaches, and ongoing monitoring and modification of approach to the strategic priorities.

TO BE CONTINUED TOMORROW….

 

 

 

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