Offer those dismissed ranks a second chance

Oct 05, 2016 Letters

Dear Editor;
I direct my letter to the Hon. Minister of Public Security Affairs and the Acting, Commissioner of Police, David Ramnarine. I read with interest the article which stated that informed us of officers who were dismissed from the Guyana Police Force recently for varying reasons.
It is intriguing. These officers are young people who wanted to better themselves and who refused to be unemployed.
They did endure the training and were placed in society to SERVE and PROTECT, however, they have faltered. My main concern is for the junior ranks who were the most recent members of the force. The ill acts they committed were utterly wrong but did it warrant that they be dismissed and put out into society to be on the “bread line.”
I know that many would say that they should have thought of that before they did whatever they did and I agree. It is not easy on someone when they join the police force. The training instructors sometimes act very inhumanely toward these young persons. Apart from that, the other side is that these young people need help.
Were they counseled? Could there have been another way to punish these officers such as withholding of a month’s salary or in-house suspension? What was the chain of command that decided to expel the officers? Yes, we want a police force that is free from negative criticism but start at the top. These persons did not kill or attempt to kill anyone. They did not steal hundreds of thousands of millions of dollars. They did not steal kilograms of narcotics.
The Commissioner stated that there is a waiting list of intended recruits with a university degree and many CXCs which with their presence will enhance the force. I do agree.
However, can the Commissioner or anyone else verify that such behaviors will not re-occur taking into account that the more qualified one is the more power he/she feels he/ she has. Of course he/she will be much wiser and apt to conceal misconducts. Mind you, it is not that all persons who are more qualified will be involved in misconduct.
Often it is the junior personnel who are ostracized and the seniors cover for each other. The Commissioner should give a report on his findings about the senior officers who put pressure on their subordinates to “bring in an amount of money at the end of the day.” When these subordinates fail for that particular day, they are told to make up the next day. Those seniors are on the job.
I would hope that those junior ranks be recalled to service. That they be given a second chance with stringent disciplinary measures. That a Behavioral Contract be signed. I would recommend that the Guyana Police Force reform their Discipline Policies and Practices as was done in other countries around the world.
I would also hope that this extract from “Preventing and Disciplining Police Misconduct An Independent Review and Recommendations” can be helpful. It follows below
Implement Education Based Discipline -:
A disciplinary system is designed to encourage proper conduct.
Punishing misconduct does not always accomplish this goal.
For example, some infractions occur because the officer lacks the tools to deal with a situation or an understanding about how to select appropriate options when faced with difficult circumstances.
In these situations, the traditional punishments of reprimand or suspension run the risk of making the offending officer bitter without helping her to perform her responsibilities more effectively. In other words, punishment merely relays the message that the officer’s choice was wrong.
Education based discipline (EBD) goes further: it teaches the officer to make better decisions in the future.
To be sure, certain violations (such as covering up a fellow officer’s misconduct) are so egregious that education is not an appropriate option, and certain officers, such as repeat offenders, are not candidates for EBD.
However, for other offenses and offenders, education can be the most productive response to police misconduct because it directly addresses the infraction’s root cause. In addition, EBD provides an opportunity to streamline disciplinary proceedings, conserve investigatory resources, and reduce the time between complaint and discipline. For more information, visit: www.atkearney.com and www.schiffhardin.com Also OPI Office of Police Integrity, Victoria.
Ethan Callender

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One thought on “Offer those dismissed ranks a second chance”

carl veecock October 5, 2016 at 11:20 am

Amazing that persons would defend the indefensible.

When these folks applied and signed up, they were told of what was expected of them.

Early exir is much better than a deferred one.

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