The risks that law enforcement officers face

Aug 31, 2015 Letters

Dear Editor,
The sight of an unconscious Constable Creason Griffith lying on the Timehri Public Road should provoke an awareness of the potential hazards and actual risks that law enforcement officers face on a daily basis.
In many developed countries the police administration makes no bones about informing about the dangers that lurk out there both for the unsuspecting public, and for their members who are working assiduously providing protection and preventing criminal acts.
That practice seems to be alien to the culture of police forces in Third World developing countries. The public is left to make its own assumptions about the inherent dangers that are likely to confront ranks during the course of their careers.
I have always held the view that the conditions under which police ranks work should be commensurate with citizens’ expectations of the general level of proficiency and professionalism of a police service.
Therefore I was pleased to read of the Minister of Public Security’s abhorrence of the dismal conditions ranks in the GPF work under and his promise to correct this situation.
Editor, conscious of the political realities that affect law enforcement, we have to determine what should be done about those identifiable risks that face all police forces; whether we avoid them, mitigate them or finance the means by which they can be eliminated.
The last might not be practical but serious consideration could be given to reducing the frequency and severity of those risks that are inevitable.
Two approaches are worthy of thought, those are (i) where certain risks are anticipated but unavoidable provided they remain within defined tolerable limits; and (ii) promoting a culture of integrity where ownership and accountability are pre-eminent and everyone understands that doing things the right and ethical way ultimately reduces risk and contributes towards achieving law enforcement goals.
The fact that law enforcement is a difficult and often thankless job makes for all kinds of individual reactions; these are further aggravated by political cross-pressures.
Examples of competing demands might be whether the police should enforce the law or focus on crime prevention; whether they should introduce a more focused road traffic safety education programme, or conduct forensic investigation of traffic accidents.
In an environment where there is a lack of public confidence, it is quite obvious that the risks are all the more exacerbated. And therefore it is all the more imperative for surveys to be conducted to determine the level of public confidence in the police as well as organize forums to get the views of all stakeholders on what they would like to see in their police force in terms of its attitudes and operational capabilities.
These would have an added advantage of identifying ways and means by which stakeholders can contribute to the development of a modern police force. A mature police administration sees the value of soliciting the views of the people they are there to serve, and not assume that the police know citizens’ expectations and have all the answers.
In other societies, the risks police forces face include allegations of human and civil rights abuse; and use-of-force, and wrongful arrests lawsuits. High-speed response and vehicular pursuit, though necessary, place ranks in physical and legal jeopardy in the event of an accident.
Although some risks are inevitable, the law enforcement environment is unpredictable and constantly changing. In the absence of close supervision, ranks are required to make split-second decisions in dangerous situations.
These factors make a cogent argument for making the public aware of the myriad dangers out there and not leaving anything to assumptions.
Patrick E. Mentore

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