The police can learn a lot from the army

Feb 08, 2014 Editorial

The simple fact that the Guyana Defence Force can muster 800 applicants is a telling point. Regardless of how you look at it the GDF is considered a far more professional body than the older Guyana Police Force. It makes absolutely no sense to highlight all the training opportunities provided to the GPF when there is no audit of value received in terms of knowledge shared and new practices introduced.
Constantly we are told in response to criticism of the police that the force is understaffed by twenty percent. What is the GDF doing to attract so many qualified young persons that the GPF can learn from? Really! Is the top brass even looking?
An ordinary person visiting a police station is shocked by the state of police building and the conditions under which policemen are expected to work. It is small wonder that the attitudes which ranks carry in their contact with members of the public reflect their work environment.
This situation is all the more troubling when the amounts of financial and other support thrown at the force do not take into consideration the welfare and well-being of the ranks who for the most part come from clean and healthy surroundings.
It is not unlikely that senior officers are unaware of the unsanitary dormitories and barrack rooms since all facilities should be inspected regularly. If it is argued that indeed inspections take place, then it must be asked to what end these are conducted.
Take a look at the condition of any army base or other facility and one comes away with a feeling of pride at how well these places are kept. Some years ago ranks entering and leaving police and army compounds were required to dress and conduct themselves in a manner which demonstrated a certain personal pride and professional etiquette.
Not so today, ranks can be seen dressed in an assortment of mufti which surely does not do their image any good.
The GPF though can learn from the army in so many ways but whether they are favourably disposed in that direction is doubtful. An argument which is made is that the GDF is required to function differently from the GPF. We take the argument, but this does not mean that on issues such as basic environmental and health issues there must be radically dissimilar approaches to the way these important matters are treated.
Another sore point is the laissez faire approach to remedial education in the force when compared to the proactive stance taken by the army in this regard. Let us for argument sake accept that educational standards have fallen in recent years when compared to the seventies and eighties, this is still no reason why a focused intervention has not been adopted by the administration to deal with the poor education level of recruits.
If as has also been argued that those inducted into the police force are products of the wider society, then it is imperative that training and orientation should reflect cognizance of that reality.
It is no secret that probably because of the nature of their particular role; policemen after attaining certain ranks seem to let themselves go physically; not so the soldier. Professional pride is evident in their military turnout and bearing while their cousin in the sister service has a large stomach covered by a uniform stretched to its limit.
The stress that is an occupational hazard in policing is a health issue that should be confronted if we are to get some relief from the almost daily incidents of bad police-public relations. The administration needs to get out of the offices and speak to their ranks; they need to understand that their ranks need them just as much as they need the junior ranks.
Ranks need to feel that their efforts are appreciated in much the same way that they must be made to feel the brunt of sanctions when they err. And just as importantly, the measured releases put out by the army in response to any incident involving a member, should be emulated by the GPF public relations people by an abandonment of the sometimes senseless strident outpourings which do more to aggravate than placate.

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The police can learn a lot from the army

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