The Police Service Com-mission (PSC) approved about 80% of the persons identified for promotion last year end and on its own added ranks to the list who it was felt were outstanding but were omitted, according to Chairman Omesh Satyanand.
Satyanand recently discussed the promotion process and asserted that one-on-one interviews of most of the candidates was one of the vetting methods used.
His description of a transparent and clean process free from political interference comes against the backdrop of former police commissioner Winston Felix calling for the commission to be fair and his criticism of the selection process at the police level of those who ought to be promoted.
The PSC Chairman said that with regard to the recent list of promotions, the commission added and subtracted names from the list provided by the Commissioner of Police. The list was sent to the commission on December 3 last year and the promotions were made public on January 2 this year.
The Commission, which is a constitutional body, comprises five members three of whom are retired police officers. It has the power under the Constitution of Guyana to make appointments of any officer of the Guyana Police Force from the rank of Inspector up, as well as to exercise disciplinary control over persons holding or acting in such offices.
Explaining the process, Satyanand said it begins with recommendations from force administration which usually come at the end of the year when there is the largest number of persons who are eligible for promotion. He noted that each recommendation is accompanied by a seniority list which details the department the police officer currently serves in, as well as his/her years of service.
Asked about background checks for those recommended for promotion, he said the commission looks at assessment reports.
“It is the authority of the Police Service Commission to promote such individuals,” he stressed while adding that a comprehensive assessment report was done for each policeman/woman who was recommended. He said that among the things the commission looked at or took into consideration before granting the promotion were: seniority, progression, performance, leadership and the rank’s “fit to the role” to move to the next level.
He said that among the names recommended, some were not promoted for various reasons. He did not list the reasons and said he was unable to provide a figure, but based on his knowledge almost 80% of those recommended were promoted.
He went on to explain that for the first time when the promotion list was received the commission held half an hour discourses with each senior superintendent, superintendent and deputy superintendent. Time did not permit discourses with ranks at lower levels, he said.
Satyanand explained that there were cases where officers had all the necessary qualities, but their names were not on the list. In these circumstances, “we took the opportunity to promote them,” he added.
He later said that there was no political interference in the promotion process while stressing that the PSC was a constituted body. “This is not a department of government…,” he stated, while noting that the commission sticks to its mandate.
Promotion bypasses and corruption
Describing the recent police promotions as a “travesty”, Felix said the failure in properly utilizing the force’s two promotion boards has led to many ranks, particularly those in junior positions, being unfairly bypassed for promotion. Such concerns have been around for years and many aggrieved ranks have expressed frustration with the process.
The Junior Promotion Board which considers the promotion of ranks between constable and sergeant and the Senior Promotion Board which recommends to the PSC persons suitable for promotion from inspector up to assistant commissioner, according to the former police commissioner, have been scuppered leaving the two most senior ranks of the force to singlehandedly choose those who will be promoted.
It is the Commissioner of Police who confirms promotions up to the rank of sergeant while the PSC, after the review of a list of names provided, promotes persons up to the rank of assistant commissioner.
The recent promotions caused quite a scandal, as among those attaining a higher rank were Narine Lall and Mohanram Dolai who had set a teen’s genitals afire in 2009, and the officer in charge of the Sparendaam Police Station where a young man’s hands were badly burnt by police last year.
Lall was appointed by the PSC, which has since defended its actions saying that he was interdicted from duty and was receiving half-month pay before the matter ended before the court but his subsequent reinstatement highlighted the force’s confidence in him. The PSC said too that the only blemish in his two-decade career was the torture issue.
Acting Police Commis-sioner Seelall Persaud approved the promotion of Dolai and he is yet to defend his position.
Felix, like many, was peeved at some of the recent promotions.
He said in a recent interview that “persons who would not have otherwise been eligible were promoted through a corruption of the police promotion procedure.”
He strongly maintained that the force ought to uphold the two promotion boards where officers sit around a table and make representations for those under their respective commands.
From his understanding “very little or no use was made of… the two promotion boards.” Felix said promotions up to sergeant ought to be done after the input from all divisional and branch commanders who are members of the Junior Promotion Board and they ought to be given the opportunity to make input during the sittings with respect to the eligibility of ranks under their respective commands who have become eligible for promotion.
The Senior Promotion Board ought to comprise the commissioner, deputy commissioner and assistant commissioners of the CID and/or Special Branch and Administration. He said that from his understanding only the two most senior members of the GPF are on the Senior Promotion Board and he feels this is unwise; the effect of this situation was witnessed in the recent list of promotions.
While stressing that this task ought not to be left to “two minds”, he expressed the view that they would be unable to pick the best candidates. “It would not be difficult to assume that by that method the best views were not brought to the table…This action alone can have a demotivating effect on the organization which needs to have its personnel at all times in high spirits and ready to perform.”
The former commissioner said too that certain actions were deliberately done to promote certain junior ranks to the exclusion of others who were more than deserving of consideration.
He made mention of the Sparendaam burning case. He said that this “neglectful sergeant” was featured among those promoted recently and it is strongly believed this was because of his blood relations with a senior member of the GPF.
He also highlighted the fact that ranks find themselves in an unfortunate position as the law prevents them from being represented by trade unions.
He said that it is for this reason that the PSC ought to ensure fairness when considering discipline and promotions.
Felix described fairness as the bedrock of the PSC as it plays a major role in promoting the personal development of ranks.
Giving a little history, he said that body came into being after experiences in the late 1960s led to the need for an oversight body to remove police discipline and promotions from the tasks of the commissioner of police and politicians so as to ensure fairness.
Senior promotions, according to him, were due over two years ago but were not done because the PSC was not constituted.
The PSC, he said, is essential in the selection of suitably qualified and trained personnel to hold senior police positions. “In other words, the PSC should receive recommendations from the police, deliberate… and where necessary call in the commissioner of police to discuss aspects of [those recommendations] for clarity.”
He said the commission should recognize that it would be in the best interest of the GPF for the two to work together for the benefit of an organization that serves the people of Guyana rather than making unwise assumptions about officers’ careers.
“The PSC should always hold itself ready to promote development of officers and by extension the GPF, ensure fairness to the officers by avoiding unfair supersessions, which were rampant in the last promotions,” he said.
