President David Granger, last week, announced that Leslie James has been confirmed as Guyana’s next Police Commissioner after consultations with Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo as adumbrated in the Constitution of Guyana.
He, like Jagdeo, admonished the new Commissioner to ensure that he does his best to improve the country’s security situation by piloting reforms within the Guyana Police Force (GPF) that would result in positive changes and a paradigm shift in the behavioural pattern of both senior and junior lawmen.
The new Commissioner, who replaces Assistant Police Commissioner David Ramnarine – who had been acting in the post following the retirement of Seelall Persaud – has already begun receiving goodwill from several high-ranking civil society organisations and stakeholders as he undertakes his new role.
And as expected, James has wasted no time in meeting with those security officials responsible for manning the hierarchy of the Force in order to share his vision and philosophy of how the law enforcement agency will function under his stewardship.
Efforts have already been taken to restructure and reorganise the manner in which the Force provides policing services to the public and its overall organisational structure, following the appointment too of four substantive Deputy Police commissioners.
While James has no doubt started his tenure on the right, he must remember that his appointment came at a critical point in Guyana’s history and there is a lot of work ahead of him as far as transforming the image and functionality of the Force. He must also never forget that the President chose him because in Granger’s words – he was unbribable.
More importantly, the new Commissioner must work hard to reverse the fast rate at which public confidence in the Force is still deteriorating. After all, it was the Latin American Public Opinion Project (LAPOP) Survey which revealed that the GPF is the least trusted law enforcement body in this country.
That survey also indicated that Guyanese also lack confidence in the Police and its ability to fight crime.
But what was then and is still now even more disturbing is the fact that the US Embassy-initiated survey also indicated that citizens do not believe that the Police Force here conducts itself professionally or appropriately. The truth is, the findings of the survey are not remarkable or surprising in any way, as it is a known fact that the level of confidence reposed by citizens in the law enforcement entities here is relatively low if not non-existent.
This is particularly true when one considers the level of crime and criminality prevailing in our society as each day citizens are murdered, victims of other heinous crimes, burglaries, rapes and domestic violence. The Police’s response is most times slothful, uncaring, unprofessional and unhelpful. Recently, patrons at an East Coast hangout spot witnessed ranks operating in an unprofessional manner when they swooped down on the location.
When they left, emotions ran high as patrons voiced their concerns over the manner in which the Police executed their ‘duties’.
It is simple incidents like these that impact public opinion and perception of the entire Police Force as they are not isolated or specific to one policing division. It is therefore laudable that Government, through the Public Security Ministry, has exhibited no tolerance for ranks who are engaged in unprofessional conduct in any area of their work as they are responsible for the ‘bad name’ the other ranks receive because of their deeds.
But the Government has to do much more to create a paradigm shift and culture transformation within the Force. The new Police Commissioner must ensure that his commanders read the riot act and understand fully that it is their responsibility to ensure that these ranks are disciplined whenever there are reports of such unprofessionalism and thuggery.
Surely, the ranks must understand too that they are not a law unto themselves and therefore whenever there are breaches of the law on their part that they will be offered no protection – not from their colleagues nor superiors. While it can be argued that the ranks are within their right to enforce the curfew laws, it can also be argued that they could spend their time patrolling the streets in pursuit of criminal elements who are usually wreaking havoc on innocent citizens.
They could spend their time solving the many unsolved murders that are staining the pages of the press while at the same time working very hard to rebuild public trust and confidence. It is necessary for the Force’s administration to conduct periodic sessions with junior and middle management ranks on professionalism, ethics, effective communication and integrity. This will go a far way in addressing the basic shortcomings that result in the Force suffering immensely whenever an evaluation is done of its performance and the level of public trust. In addition, urgent efforts at reforming the Force must be undertaken.
The new Commissioner faces an uphill task and the public wishes him well. He will be the sole decider of the legacy left behind when he retires.
