Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee has expressed concern at a number of issues affecting the proper management of police stations, including the unsatisfactory response to reports of domestic violence and allegations of corruption, at a Conference for Inspectors and Sergeants, held two weeks ago.

The Conference Statement, issued by the Guyana Police Force Tuesday, stated that Rohee also expressed concern about the numerous complaints against members of the Force, the need for better police/community relations, the careless use of police facilities, response to reports of serious crimes, the need for better financial accountability, mistreatment of prisoners, improved relations between the police and Community Policing Groups and more vibrant leadership from the Inspectors and Sergeants.

It was the second Conference for those ranks and 167 Inspectors and Sergeants attended.

The Conference was held under the theme “Promoting Effective Middle Management through Participation and Professional Development.” The Police was able to reduce serious crime by 9%, Rohee said. He called on the police to place more focus this year on the further reduction of crime, the reduction of road accidents, the promotion of community policing in communities and the expansion of the Neighbourhood Policing Programme.

While pledging the support of the government in the reforming of the Force through the Citizen Security Programme and the Security Sector Reform, he urged ranks to enhance their professional delivery of services to the public by having greater visibility in the communities, improving response time to reports, greater focus on public order preparedness, better attitude towards the handling of domestic reports and a reduction of allegations of improper conduct against ranks, the statement said.  Meanwhile, Commissioner of Police Henry Greene urged the ranks to understand their role and set the example for their juniors.

He called on them to guide their subordinates in a professional manner and take a personal interest in their development. Towards this achievement, the Commissioner stressed the need for the strengthening of the middle management corps and the imposition of discipline among ranks along with the restart of weekly Instruction Classes at stations, during which ranks engage in theoretical and practical learning sessions in police work, the statement said.