Contradictory signals

Sep 10, 2014 Editorial

Seeing a police pickup in the Sussex Street Canal was enough to give pause when citizens reflect on the perennial response to calls for assistance that there is no vehicle available.
People are not comforted by government’s claims of increased budgetary allocations which result in more vehicles purchased for the Guyana Police Force when their very lives are placed in jeopardy because of lack of vehicles.
The force received another batch of pickups and cars earlier in the year but a contentious issue which arises is the capability of those vehicles to withstand the rigours of police work, especially since patrol vehicles are expected to be available twenty-four hours a day.
Perhaps just as importantly are questions surrounding the proficiency levels of those ranks assigned as drivers of police vehicles and the tests they undergo to meet the required standards. The impression to be gained whenever we see those pictures is that not enough input goes into preparing prospective drivers for the occupational hazards of police driving. Another thing is that with the proliferation of automatic transmission motors, some ‘drivers’ are at a distinct disadvantage to adjust to manual shift vehicles when situations warrant. Therefore those questions need to be answered. When it comes to maintenance, the appearance of police vehicles which are bought with hard earned tax dollars leaves a lot to be desired. Patrol pickups are without rear lights and no one seems to care that they pose a clear danger to other road users, not to mention the fact that other motorists are subjected to vehicle safety checks and sanctions applied at roadside courts.
This is not to say that the police may not have justifiable grounds for claiming that vehicles are unavailable. Since the mid-1990s the responsibility for maintaining police vehicles fell to private mechanics, effectively relegating the Transport Section to performing menial tasks totally removed to the skills that the section undoubtedly possessed at that time. Since then the practice has continued under successive police administrations with the result that police vehicles can be seen lying idle outside of mechanic shops for lengthy periods while exposed to inclement weather. It therefore stands to reason that the operational life of those affected vehicles would be severely shortened, thereby creating the kind of environment for citizen dissatisfaction with police performance.
The well-established practice of importing second-hand and reconditioned vehicles into this country has also influenced the procurement policy decision of the police, seemingly with no serious regard for the operational demands of policing. Complaints have been made about the frequency with which police vehicles are in need of repairs shortly after acquisition, simply because it was not thought economically feasible to purchase new vehicles to service the security needs of the country. All-terrain vehicles (ATVs) are assigned to interior locations and fall apart almost as soon as they begin patrols, because someone was on the lookout for cheap products.
A few questionable procurement decisions are worth mentioning to support the previous point. Several years ago a water cannon was introduced for the purpose of assisting in the maintenance of order in times of civil unrest. A pleasure craft was acquired at the cost of several million dollars, ostensibly for law enforcement and crime prevention maritime patrols. These materiel have never been effectively utilised and – needless to say, those examples of flawed decision-making have been forgotten, and no one has been brought to book.
Over the last twenty years vehicles whose owners were involved, or suspected of involvement in criminal activity, have been deteriorating in the compound of the Criminal Investigations Department Headquarters. Agencies under the purview of the U.S. Department of Justice have in place an arrangement to dispose of seized assets associated with criminal activity. The fact that a similar mechanism is not in place here is testimony to a penchant for official vacillation and wastage of resources.
It is unbelievable that the police would not have made the necessary request to the government for appropriate legislation to cover the disposal of those motor vehicles, especially when the claim of insufficient vehicles existed from time immemorial. This vehicle graveyard in full view of passerby sends contradictory signals about government’s seriousness of intent to deal with crime.

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Contradictory signals

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