Police top brass being evasive to the media

Oct 15, 2019 News

As media operatives, obtaining a story and breaking it first is the main objective of the day. However, getting the details of a story in order to accurately report it can be tricky.
There are times when one has to rely on a person from a particular entity.
When it comes to accidents, murders, robbery and other incidents, which are classified under the umbrella of crime, the first point of contact after a visit to the scene would be the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Guyana Police Force (GPF).
Depending on the amount of time that has elapsed, the PRO may not have received the information as yet and he would advise that you call the Divisional Commander for advice. This is often times where the trouble begins.
It is understood that they are all busy people but the articles carried reflect on them as well. As members of an organisation, putting out accurate information is part of the job.
It is at times a situation where stories are carried without the side of the police due to them not answering calls at all or promising to call back and never do.
When this is done, the respective media house is often contacted and reprimanded for carrying a “one sided story”.
On numerous occasions when directed, calls made to the former Commander of the now dissolved ‘D’ Division, Edmund Cooper, Commander of Region Four; Georgetown, Marlon Chapman, Crime Chief Michael Kingston; and Traffic Chief Linden Isles amongst others, would go unanswered.
One top cop went as far as to tell a reporter that if two or more calls go unanswered that is an indication that he is busy and to stop calling since he is not obligated to answer his phone and speak to the media.
While they may not be obligated to speak or answer to them, the media plays a big part in assisting the Force with their cases as well as getting information out there so that the public could be vigilant and keep abreast with the status of investigations etc.
President of the Guyana Press Association, Nazima Raghubir, advised that if you “call once and they do not answer, keep calling until you get through.”
Just recently, the same issue regarding no responses and not returning calls was raised by another reporter in a group chat where the police normally send out their “press releases” in relation to various matters, they are yet to respond.

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