Police reform is threatened

Oct 22, 2013 Editorial

The hype about the proposed formation of a SWAT Unit has replaced the enthusiasm of the Minister of Home Affairs regarding the recently established Strategic Management Department. There seems to be no real attention being paid to the fact that three of those highly qualified persons as touted by the Ministry have thrown in the towel as far as reforming the Guyana Police Force is concerned.
Citizens were regaled with the promise that things could only get better with this novel ministerial initiative of seeking outside expertise which apparently the Guyana Police Force is sadly lacking. Questions have rightly been asked about the commitment of the departed, but a letter by one Sylvia St Romain also quite rightly points out that the former members are entitled to seek their own place in the sun.
As sure as night follows day, if the remaining members of the SMD are offered anything they consider a better option there is no guarantee that the attrition will not continue. “You can’t buy your employees’ enthusiasm, loyalty, hearts, minds or souls. You must earn them! You can only expect to get back what you have put into it” Police and the Community; Radelet 1986.
We are told that the problems of the SMD began with a lack of cooperation by a senior member of the GPF, and therefore it is reasonable to ask if any qualified person no matter how committed, would be willing to stand for that type of parochial nonsense especially when the only reason for their presence is that they were employed to fill a void that the police themselves could not.
So has the position changed where the GPF now has the capacity to deliver along the strategic management continuum? In the first place there was a great deal of misinformation about what the SMD was established to achieve.
How on earth can any sensible mind realistically expect that a new initiative like the SMD could change the police in a cultural, behavioral sense? Everyone seems to be clamoring for the SMD to modernize the police force. How could that be possible when everyday there is another reminder that the more things change the more they remain the same?
What is not in the public domain is that the SMD was established to monitor, evaluate and report on the performance of the GPF in the implementation of its five-year strategic plan, and not to be itself the implementer of those plans.
The police force is characterized by silo management styles, hierarchical organizational structures with a dependence on strict operational procedures. This compliance, rule-based environment is based upon a transactional leadership style and therefore it is not an intrinsically motivating work environment.
To accomplish this, all leaders must engage the minds and hearts of all within the GPF and take ownership of the various projects in which they are assigned to participate. When leaders fail to do this, they are limiting the organization’s success and contributing to the attrition problems within the police force.
An important question which must be answered is “has the SMD delivered anything in the months of its existence; and if it has what was delivered and what has the GPF gained from the deliverables insofar as they can transform the organization?: If no positive answer is forthcoming then in all fairness to the taxpayer the role of the SMD must be revisited as a matter of national urgency.
Implicit in all of the foregoing is the thought that the professional relationship which the subject Minister envisaged, might not have been realized between the SMD and certain influences within the GPF. If this is so was this brought to anyone’s attention by any of the concerned parties? If so was anything done and what was the outcome? If nothing was done, why not?
If no one wanted to ruffle feathers or bell the cat then it is easy to see a degeneration in the entire setup including resignations for any or all of the reasons stated. The GPF must answer questions about its commitment to change.

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