Georgetown : Minister of Home Affairs inaugurating the 2014 Junior Officers’ Course, said that a high degree of integrity by members of the Guyana Police Force is a guarantee for closer collaboration between the Police and the public.
Addressing the Junior and Middle Officers’ Course of the Disciplined Services , Minister Rohee said that that to ensure true and full benefit of the Force, the issue of police integrity must be one that must be given particular attention with the Force, more so at the middle level of the organisation structure of the Force.
Minister Rohee warned the Junior Officers, that in the absence of public trust, they will find it difficult to gain public support.
“You need to, as a matter of necessity, ensure that you carry out your policing functions with the highest degree of integrity,” he said. “Simple missteps could put you in trouble and damage the reputation of the Guyana Police Force,” he warned.
“… if your relative or an associate of yours is involved in a matter that requires intervention by the Guyana Police Force, you should know by now that you should recluse yourself from the investigations into such matters. Similarly, if your relative or close friend is a victim of a crime, you should not be part of the investigations; neither should you be involved in directing the investigations because conflict of interest issues will arise,” the minister said.
n addition to focusing on improving integrity, focus must also be placed overall on improving the image of the Force, Minister Rohee added, as he pointed out that the integrity of Police ranks and the image of the Force in the eyes of the public could impact the extent to which more public support could be garnered by the Force and its officers.
“You should remember that, to a large extent that you function as members of the Force with the consent of the public. Therefore, public acceptance of the Force is tied in with your ability to be successful in maintaining Law and Order,” he told the officers.
