Diversified workforce leads to professionalism − Min. Benn

Diversifying the Guyana Police Force to include more ethnic groups and women is part of the Home Affairs Ministry’s vision for improving the force’s image and ensuring professionalism at all times.

The police force over the past few years has been facing harsh criticisms from the public with respect to its image when dealing with certain issues and its overall conduct.

Home Affairs Minister Robeson Benn, during a seminar held virtually on Thursday, acknowledged that this is one of the many challenges being faced by the force.

As the minister with responsibility for the force, he is working to address this.

“Diversity will bring along professionalism, it will bring along the platforms from which we could do the reform of the Guyana Police Force. We’re working hard on issues of reform. We have quite a large number of studies in relation to some of the reforms which should proceed, other than bringing in a few experts,” Minister Benn expressed.

The minister believes without a diverse force, empathy and caring for each other will not be achieved.

“Unless we have a full participation of various groupings, religions, ethnicities in these groupings, this would speak perhaps to even in the interior of the country and in particular communities, where say the police would not be viewed as an occupying force or powerful, disdainful, coast landers are there, we don’t have a particular care or interest in learning how people live, what language they speak,” the minister noted.

In addition, Minister Benn explained that too often police officers deal with issues personally and not with professionalism. He said these officers must understand that they are the ones to protect citizens and must act accordingly.

“The issue is to make policing more professional and not personal. It is heavily personalised, it’s very disdainful, not that there aren’t many many good policing but the negatives are sometimes overwhelming and surprising and even ridiculous at times, comical sometimes.”

Having said this, the ministry is looking to install cameras at every police station to monitor engagements between police officers and members of the public.

“We are going to be putting in cameras in all the police station, so where there is contact between the police and the population, there will be cameras that will be recording that engagement. “We’re talking the talk about how when people come to the police station how they’re treated, whether they’re chased out, whether their information is taken down, whether there’s a safe space for women who are suffering from domestic abuse or for children who may have issues under the law. So, the issue is to make policing professional and not personal.”

Minister Benn noted the improvements to the force will not be done overnight, but it would need cooperation from individuals, communities, religious bodies and the changing cultural behaviour.

He, however believes that with the current leadership, vast improvements will be made.

“I think with the new leadership and new vision and new approach to the issue of making out policing better, we’re moving along that pathway.”