The 911 reservations

Jan 04, 2014 Editorial

Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee’s reported frustration about the efficiency of the 911 emergency system is enough to have even the least discerning among us attaching themselves limpet-like to the panic button.
But looking at Mr. Rohee’s 911 qualms, one may be forgiven for wondering if the GPF has really noted that the minister’s misgivings is a stark reflection of the almost constant complaints we hear about the lack of response to citizens’ call for assistance.
Will the police administration examine what is the actual response time to a 911 call from any given location in a division to a scene, taking into consideration road condition; volume and category of road traffic in terms of time of day or night; day or night of the week; volume and frequency of calls?
Is there any working relationship between the police and the Ministry of Public Works with regard to the notification of deteriorating roadways which have negative implications for police response time and ultimately on public perceptions of the force’s reliability?
There should be a review of the type and conditions of police vehicles in light of the fact that many police vehicles are a disgrace especially since ordinary members of the public are expected to have roadworthy vehicles. These are but a few of the issues that any serious police force considers as normal in the general scheme of things.
However, it would not be surprising if these matters are not being attended to with the necessary dispatch in light of the political insularity which have for decades inhibited the practice of professional policing in this country.
Leaving aside for the moment the minister’s professed lack of a university degree one cannot in all good conscience question his good intentions in the absence of evidence to the contrary. What should be of concern to everyone including civil society and the political opposition, is the seeming incapacity of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) for self-evaluation. This is perceived through the force’s apparent failure to review initiatives with the ultimate objective being public satisfaction through efficient and effective service and protection.
A likely scenario is that the minister is not being provided with the requisite level of professional and technical law enforcement support and guidance, but is simply being left to stew in his own juice of self-confessed ignorance.
The GPF has not been left behind over the years in terms of its members achieving a tertiary level education. However what is significant is the possibility that among its graduates might well be some whose certification is based more upon influence than by any knowledge above a fundamental grasp of their studied discipline.
This view is supported by the practice of loud public pronouncements about interventions without the commensurate public notification about their efficacy reflecting a methodology that bespeaks higher learning. For example it is no use saying that crime or road traffic accidents have increased or decreased without pointing to the variable factors over which the GPF had, or did not have control.
There must be some concrete measures that the police can use to define operational success or failure. The force needs to remove itself from being reactive and combative in response to criticism, to a more proactive body which has an appreciation for the intelligence of the public.
This is achievable in an enabling environment characterised by diligent research of issues, and whose findings are presented for public consumption and empathy from a problem-solving perspective.
Among the aspects that the police administration through a process of self-examination can inform on are: the image that a reformed and strategic-thinking GPF expects to project in terms of its administrative and operational skills; projected significant institutional accomplishments; conflict management and ethics thrusts; its awareness of the importance of coaching and mentoring personal and careers objectives with a focus on ability, competence and achievement.
These are very important issues which if left unaddressed could lead to further stagnation of critical thinking skills which are sorely needed at this juncture.

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