Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee on Thursday, March 1, warned police officers about their informal relationship with the media, saying that there are some who think that they are doing the force good by helping to grease those sections of the media hostile to the law enforcement agencies.
He was referring to those officers who provide classified and internal information as well as their own personal views and analyses on sensitive issues.
“I want to warn about this malpractice. The Guyana Police Force is an integral member of the disciplined services; as such, its members are expected to behave in a disciplined manner,” Rohee told police officers at their annual conference at Eve Leary.
Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee
He stressed the need for the senior officers to obey the “Force’s Order in respect to communications with the media”.
“It is expected that all and sundry within the force, particularly at the senior level will fall in line and uphold that order and will not seek to adopt an individualistic and egoistic stand, and more so, provide their personal view to the media, ” Rohee warned.
Meanwhile, in addressing the general performance of the force, Rohee said the organisation could have done more to combat crime in the country last year. He said while there were periods of successes and instances of challenges, the force “responded to those challenges with determination and vigour”. He described the performance of the force generally as “credible”, should crime figures be used as an indicator.
Rohee said he is particularly concerned with the shift in criminal activities to the gold mining districts in the interior.
“There has been a suggestion from the senior management of the force that most of the murders in the interior were of the disorderly type. The general public, on the other hand, view a murder just what it is, thus prevention in a more viable option to address this issue.” On that note, the minister said that there can be no denial that the increase in mining activities has brought new challenges for law enforcement.
The home affairs minister noted that he expects better performance from the force this year, as his ministry is tasked with ensuring that the policies of the ministry are carried out by the force in keeping with its mandate under the Constitution.
“For the year 2012, the expectation of my ministry is that the Guyana Police Force would be able to improve on its overall performance,” Rohee told the officers. However, he noted that for there to be an overall improvement in the performance of ranks, there are a number of issues that must be addressed by the force.
He called for more engagement in “analysis based” development strategies, noting that there needs to be more crime analysis and crime trends to influence patrolling arrangements.
“This process should also be utilised in conducting traffic patrols. These strategies will allow for better use of human and vehicular resources by the force.”
The minster also pointed to the need for there to be a “flexible response capability” to boost response to some types of crime, especially those occurring in outlying areas. He also made mention to the need to respond to complaints lodged against ranks of the police force.
Speaking on the issue of corruption, Rohee said that allegations of corruption are also a concern to his ministry.
“I have not lost sight of the fact that action is being taken against the ranks, who have been identified to be involved in corrupt practices. However, some of the incidents of corruption seem to have occurred as a result of systems failure and inadequate supervision.”
He believes that the force should review some of its control mechanisms and supervisory systems to tackle corruption aggressively. That aside, the minister said that there are some divisional commanders who need to submit their monthly accountability reports on time, while noting that some have done a commendable job.
Additionally, the minister stated that the use of the Initial Crime Information System (ICIS) is an “excellent tool for the management and operations of the force”. He said based on his assessment, there is a need for more training and sensitisation on the system at the junior levels of the force so that “maximum benefits could accrue to the organisation”.
