THOSE POLICE TRANSFERS

Feb 24, 2014 Editorial

Commissioner Leroy Brummel’s immediate transfer of ranks stationed at the Number 51 Police Station has quite rightly attracted public comments. Among the more reasoned arguments is the one which points to the possibility of more opportunities for wrongdoing if the affected ranks were indeed guilty of the offences for which they were transferred. It must be noted that no evidence has been produced in this regard. Therefore the factors of the ‘new’ environment where the tranferees are expected to be productive merit valid consideration at this time. The move, it is also argued, was bad and as a precedent, leaves much to be desired in terms of the professional approach required when addressing concerns stemming from contacts between communities and the police.
No serious thought seems to have informed the decision to remove the ranks; not one about the impact on their families – bearing in mind that nothing has been proven against them. No thought appears to have been given to the implications that this decision could have for additional stressors on these police ranks in a job already characterized by traumatic stress. Not one voice has been raised to speak to the possible negative repercussions that could influence their future interactions with citizens. But just as importantly, no mention has been made of the impact that these postings will have on their relations with their peers, subordinates and superiors.
In the love-hate relationship that sometimes exists between the citizenry and the police, not much appreciation is shown for the demands the job makes on our premier law enforcers. Moreover, the police themselves do not make things any easier for the public to accept them. One day it seems as if things are on an even keel, and the next day the Force proves that there is a new low to which its members have taken it. This last is not helped by the self-regulating nature of police work; absent is the kind of oversight possible from the presence of a potent civil society body tasked with monitoring the accountability and performance of the police. Another aspect that seems not to be a factor in the police approach is citizen’s perceptions of what total quality service entails. Stonewalling has become an art form in the Police Force’s modus operandi in the face of public concerns about misconduct.
In the U.S, citizens have expressed concerns about what has been described as the ‘officer shuffle’, where discredited officers are allowed to remain in police work merely by moving from one department to another. In the Guyana instance, nothing has to be proved for a cloud to remain over someone who might hitherto have had an unblemished record of exemplary service. Furthermore, as in the U.S, no studies have been conducted here to examine the effects of arbitrary and unfavourable transfers on those who are expected to work with discredited ranks.
The usual noise about policing corrupt practices and professional misconduct is absent and there is no thought spared for the possible negative influence of associations formed at the destination of these transfers. It is quite possible for some ranks to think that it is okay to be involved in corrupt activities because the most that can happen is a transfer. Anecdotally, the locations once considered the Siberia of the Force were the Tactical Service Unit, and the interior stations; nowadays the police training school is the place where ranks are sent to end their days. This is ironic because that is exactly the place they should not be, since as Instructors, they are required to be instrumental in ensuring that recruits get the correct orientation to become model citizens in public service. The postings which ranks have no difficulty accepting are in Immigration, Traffic, and (funny enough) interior locations. Go figure!
Maybe it is time for the police force to be more responsive to what the public really expects of it; being reactive is not acceptable. What can we expect to see from a reformed Guyana Police Force? But even more importantly, we need to see evidence that the Force’s administration is serious about taking the necessary transformative steps to modernisation. Dealing with police misconduct is a step in that direction.