The police need behavioural centres

Feb 27, 2018 Letters

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Dear Editor

In a report appearing in Kaieteur News, February, 19, 2018, Crime Chief, Paul Williams was quoted as stating that the main suspect in the recent series of carjacking was a policeman. However, he was very quick to point out that the suspect was dismissed while he was a recruit because of his unacceptable behaviour.
Sometimes, I wonder why accused or suspects who served as career policemen or who spent a very short time in the force are quickly labelled as ex or former members of the force by the media. On occasions when ex or former members of the force excel on matters not related to crime that label disappears. The senior crime fighter who was a Force Recruitment and Training Officer also explained some steps to be taken before applicants are recruited into the force.
Generally they are: successful completion of written examinations, passed medical tests, and received acceptable background reports.
So, to put it another way, as long as the applicants successfully completed the three steps mentioned above they have an automatic entry into the Guyana Police Force. This system appeared to be geared to produce quantity rather than quality when it should be the other way around.
Examination of the recruitment system revealed that the Final Interview for Selection conducted by the police is very limited and is not designed to address behaviour, particularly psychological behaviour. Psychological behaviour is a major phenomenon that the policeman must deal with in the execution of his duties.
A policeman must not only deal with the behaviour of the criminals, he must deal with the behaviour of his superiors, his peers, his subordinates, members of the public, his family, friends and his own behaviour.
According to Ho (2002), “Undoubtedly, psychological testing has become a crucial element in the police officer recruitment process.”
In their effort to recruit suitable persons for the force the police should establish what is known as Assessment Centres. They are nothing new. During World War 11 both the Allies and Axis used them to train their spies. An assessment center is a place where a series of events or exercises occur.
The candidates are put in situations where among other things behaviour, particularly psychological, can be observed by trained assessors. This process can identify applicants who display unacceptable behaviour for the job although they may have satisfied all other entry level requirements. It can prevent undesirables from becoming members of the force.
Tinsley (2002) posits “The assessment center was – and still is – one of the best methods available for selecting suitable candidates for either employment or advancement in law enforcement agencies.”
I clearly recall several years ago during my groundings in Jamaica with my brothers from the Jamaica Constabulary Force I attended a few assessment centres. I found them to be very interesting. On one occasion a candidate with a degree from the University of the West Indies participated. During the assessment he displayed some amount of psychopathic behaviour. He was not selected for enlistment in the JCF.
After the assessment Francis Forbes, the Head of the Jamaica Constabulary Staff College who later became a Commissioner of Police said to me, “Him can come from Mona with honour’s degree, but if him ah wan psycho, him can’t be a police.”
On the other hand applicants for the GPF who passed the police written examination, are medically fit, are cleared by background checks, are highly qualified academically but has abnormal traits which are not picked up because of flawed recruitment procedure can easily slip into the GPF.
Even if there are slippages and abnormal behaviour is detected after recruitment there should be a department in the force to deal with such behaviour. The department should not only deal with recruit behaviour but the behaviour of all the ranks at the various levels of the force.
Hence, I again make a clarion call for the establishment of a Behavioural Science Unit in the GPF. Among the subject areas it should cover are: effective communication, anger management, conflict resolution – Do you resolve conflict by resorting to the 3Bs – boots, baton or bayonet or through the barrel of a gun? Self-esteem, effectively dealing with people, policing multi-cultural and diverse society, effective investigation, problem solving, people skills, cultural awareness and sensitivity, critical thinking, capacity to act, ability to apply knowledge and emotional intelligence are necessary ingredients.
Yours faithfully
Clinton Conway
Assistant Commissioner of Police
(Retired)

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