COMMISSION OF ENQUIRY INTO POLICING IN GUYANA
PRELIMINARY LIST OF ISSUES

INTRODUCTION

According to public advertisements, the Commission of Enquiry into Policing in Guyana is receiving written submissions from the general public until August 11th. In the weeks following August 11th the Commission will be holding Hearings at which organizations and individuals who have made written submissions will be invited to discuss their submissions with the Commission. Only the authors of written submissions are eligible to appear at the Hearings. A written submission on an issue does not have to be exhaustive or detailed. It is sufficient that the Commission can easily identify the main concerns.

The Guyana Human Rights Association has prepared this document to encourage a broad range of individuals and organizations to participate in the work of the Commission. The List of Issues suggests topics that should be addressed by the Commission of Enquiry into Policing in Guyana.

In the course of preparing the List Of Issues the GHRA has drawn on its own experience of monitoring the human rights aspects of policing in Guyana since 1980, from Reports on policing in other societies and international Standards on Policing.

GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS

The following preliminary comments identify two points with respect to policing and the general public.

Public re-assurance and Crime Reduction

Newspaper reports around the world show a surprisingly stubborn disconnect between public perceptions of crime and actual statistics on crime. There is no automatic correlation between the public’s feeling of assurance and the actual crime rate. While crime statistics may show falling rates, public perceptions are normally that crime is rising, creating a dilemma for policy-makers.

The most effective method of re-assuring the public is by re-introducing foot patrols, but this is not the most effective way of fighting crime. Unfortunately for policy-makers, public opinion (and re-assurance) is more determined by visibility, media coverage, accessibility and the presence of uniformed patrols than by statistics. Tough choices have to be made both by policy-makers and by the police since both public reassurance and crime reduction are important. The better informed and more engaged the public becomes, the more likely it is that policing strategies which are both acceptable and efficient will emerge.

Policing By Consent

By a principle similar to that in which an individual cannot hand over his or her responsibility for their health to the Ministry of Health, a community cannot completely hand over concern for its safety to the police. The Ministry of Health can provide doctors, medics, ambulances and hospitals, but these cannot off-set wrong life-style choices about diet, exercise, smoking etcetera. In a similar manner, a community needs to ensure it is taking all reasonable precautions for its own safety, rather than rely entirely on policing.

List of Issues

The following list does not enter into detail or argument to support the proposals within each issue. The intention of the following List is primarily to set out an agenda of issues pertinent to the modernization and reform of the Guyana Police Force. Each issue needs to be adapted to the aspirations, conditions and resources of Guyana at the present time.

Mission Statement for the Guyana Police Force

Development of a Mission Statement provides a vehicle both for the police and the public to reach a clear, common understanding and agreement on whether we wish to have a Police Service or a Police Force.

Accountability: A Civilian Oversight Board

Accountability of the GPF at present is almost exclusively to the Minister Of Home Affairs. Forms of accountability to a broader range of public representatives should replace this arrangement. A Board comprising membership of parliamentarians, agencies involved in the administration of justice and civil society should exercise effective control over the Police Service in Guyana.

Powers of such a Board should include approval of objectives and plans designed by the Commissioner of Police; negotiate the police budget; monitor implementation of policy; approve senior appointments, receive reports from the Police Commissioner and to initiate any enquiry deemed necessary.

The Civilian Oversight Board should also be charged with the creation of community or neighbourhood partnership committees with local commanders.

Complaints Mechanism

A mechanism is required with powers both to react to complaints concerning conduct of members of the GPF and to initiate any investigation.

Policing In the Community

Good professional relations with the community are the core of police services. In order for this to become a reality, attention must be paid to a series of considerations for reducing as well as detecting crime, including the following:

1). Location of Police Officers in the community for a sufficient period of time.
2). Community policing boards should liaise effectively with local police stations
3). Police training should place higher priority on training in the communities.
4). Foot patrols should be a regular feature of community policing
5). Training should include proble- solving techniques.
6). Police Stations should reflect community Partnerships.
7). Police stations should:

(a). Look like other community buildings.
(b) Be more welcoming
(c)Be more accessible to the public
(d)Have congenial working environments
(e) Employ civilians for jobs which do not require police traing or police powers.
(f) Have lay visitors with powers to inspect places of detention and interrogation
(g) Have detention facilities which do not de-humanize detainees.
(h) Follow procedures which respect dignity of suspects