Dear Editor,
On my recent visit to the Police Headquarters in Brickdam where I was pursuing the enforcement of a warrant, I was very surprised to see the lack of infrastructural investment in the police’s facilities. Many of the buildings needed to be renovated and the facilities provided to the hard-working officers were not very encouraging. It is somewhat understandable why the police force is not currently at world-class levels of performance. As the saying goes “our surroundings become us.”
We have seen many infrastructural investments occurring around the country, but the urgently needed investment in law and order is lagging. This is essential for the consistent attraction of foreign direct investment and the sustainability of gains in standard of living improvements. It is important that we remember that we will be also competing with safer countries for tourists, and even though the tourists may be nature lovers, they usually expect a dependable and secure environment that has a robust law and order infrastructure.
The Chinese government has been very generous to the nation by providing many of the urgently needed equipment for the police, but it is now up to our government to improve the working conditions of the hard-working officers across the nation. One of the best places to start is Brickdam. This will help set the tone for the level of excellence expected within the force and could be followed by investments across each division’s headquarters. Many of the facilities need to be renovated and this may be accomplished by simply replacing broken windows, rotting wood and fixing of internal driving surfaces. Some of the stations’ entrances and gates need to be fixed and the flag poles at various locations appear to be in need of supplies.
While visiting Orealla, I decided to see a friend who had just been stationed there and was quite astonished at the entrance to the police station. When it rains, it would flood and the building was rotting in a number of spots. This did not bode well in providing a positive impression that the country was strong against any potential threat from Suriname, whose patrols would visibly pass by the police station in speedboats quite often.
It is my hope that as the crime rate continues to be systematically attacked by the police force, they will be able to benefit from additional professional motivation by increased investment in their facilities as infrastructural plans are implemented.
Yours faithfully,
J. Changlee
