Laying down the law to law enforcers

Nov 10, 2019 Editorial

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The words, hard instructions from the head of the Traffic Department to police drivers were blunt and sharp. Observe speed limits studiously, stay in lane patiently, and minimise carefully the use of ‘blue lights.’ Then, above all, reserve the use of sirens for emergency situations, emergency situations only. All of this and more were emphasised in what amounted to an emergency seminar, that lasted an entire day, and which means there were costs incurred from feeding a contingent of officers, utilising some necessarily vital training from scarce budget monies, and removing those same ranks from immediate road duties.
It was management of the Guyana Police Force in action, after a series of troubling public developments involving traffic ranks. The seminar unfolded before an assembled choir of its ranks, which is now forced to listen to the directives from above, and then follow them to the fullest. It took a long time and after much destruction to taxpayer assets, as well as loss of life and limb. The announcements from police brass were unambiguous and signified serious intentions at cracking down hard, with the aim of stamping out malpractices authoritatively. We shall see.
This paper is of the impression that the seniors are serious, and they mean business, with dependence on time to be the best judge of all. This is all good news for harried daily commuters, who all toe the line, wait in line at lights, and stay in their lane, while praying for help (or swearing) before the unyielding traffic gods. Suffering members of the public do so without having access to sirens, or anything resembling the state-empowered clout of mainly men in uniform, or the power and pull of seniors wearing stripes or stars, or the camouflaging tint of officially sanctioned vehicles.
Like friends and neighbours and fellow impatient, angry, and disgusted drivers, regular citizens line up, wait their turn, and bear their chafe. They are in no hurry to arrive early in the mortuary (or in the hospital or courts). The police people must be the same way, too; with juniors and seniors showing some regard for standing procedures (if not the law itself), while extending some respect and courtesy to a tortured, dismayed public.
This publication is desirous of knowing the reasons for constant shows of swaggering force. Why there is the almost uninterrupted abuse of state facilities, and misuse of state-deposited power? For when these occur, the wreckages to man and machine multiply, the image and reputation of the GPF collapse before what is safe, professional, even ethical. For there have been consistent individual and GPF contributions to the scorn attracted, perhaps detestations of, those members of the Force, who fly past the ordinary man uncaringly, arrogantly, and dangerously.

Of necessity, the same questions from before must be repeated: where are they going in such an ungodly hurry? Why the high-speed haste to not be late, when there is the infinitely higher risk of ending up as the late constable this, or the departed corporal that, or the mourned Inspector so and so? The requisite training has never been lacking, merely the intentions to obey and practice as a matter of routine. And to be very candid, only the administrative will higher up, to enforce discipline on one’s own with the severest of stripes inflicted for these ongoing traffic shortcomings.
Because of the latter, it is unsurprising that care and discipline fell by the wayside and, increasingly, perilous recklessness took chronic hold. Nobody in charge was doing anything of substance, while some of those in charge, were part of the problem, through their own abuses and misuses of lanes and sirens and speed limits. As should be expected, safety suffered, with fear and disgust surfacing and refusing to leave the public’s consciousness.
People had to die before the madness registered, before the red lights of official realisation, and the related required reaction took belated root. The circumstances pointed to new vehicles damaged, expensive taxpayers’ property wasted, only to be followed by casual consignment to the growing pile of vehicles in the junkyards. Then, and only then, it became unacceptable and maddeningly deafening from the proliferation of acute lapses of judgment and responsibility.
The time was way past for action, for laying down the law, for setting expectations, for drawing the line. Also, the time came for warning that the book would be thrown at those, who could be made examples. Thus, matters boiled down to this: pay attention, listen and hear, then go out on the roads and do one thing: be like the people, while trying to understand their road woes, through identifying with their daily grind.
So matters finalised at this point: slow down, turn off sirens, remain in lane, or else. Emergencies are understood and understandable, with the clear message from Traffic Chief, Linden Isles, being that they had better be bona fide ones, lacking in tricks or gimmicks. Lives are spared and assets have longer, more useful lives. The public would observe and, in time, even applaud a new standard of professionalism as practiced by the Guyana Police Force, whether on or off duty.
Appreciation is earned, and respect could come, given time and consistency. There are other by-products, mostly favourable to the public’s mental picture of the police. Disciplined police drivers blending in with traffic flows are better positioned to monitor those who are breaching safety rules and regulations, endangering others, and masquerading under the cover of illegal tints.
In the larger schemes of police operations and police reputational enhancements, siren misuse, speeding violations, and lane ignoring are not insignificant concerns. When addressed timely and authoritatively, however, they represent fresh, constructive building blocks on which to approach the thornier matters that plague. Such as endemic corruption, lifestyle alarms, and asset extravagances. When a determined start is made with some of the more blatant matters at hand, then there can be emerging hope that a new order of things is about to dawn, and that it furnishes the opportunity to grasp the day and all the looming challenges which follow.
When the rank and file and higher ups are essentially summoned on short notice to a one-day training seminar, then it is clear that intense pressures had built up and the dam finally overflowed. When the language from Traffic Chief Isles is sharp and unsparing, then there should be awareness that the damning writing is on the wall, and that those guilty of dereliction of responsibility can get their goose cooked.
Officers who play at stupidity are putting their careers (and more) on the line, when they test the will and seriousness of management. When officer pretend that ‘deh ears hard’ then they will be forced to learn the hard way. This is a test for listeners and watchers to focus on the resolve and credibility of police brass. And, finally, it is a test that just could bring some positive results out of a bad situation, through rising public goodwill.
The patience and trust of the public is at stake, which a special positive in-the-waiting. This publication joins with the populace in waiting and watching, if only to ascertain how successful things will be. Traffic Chief Isles cautioned his audience about arriving early, possible reassignment, and a best driver award. All good things intended to prohibit the bad things from coming to pass. It is timely to start over, and it is never better than now.

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