The Guyana Police Force finds itself, not for the first time in recent years, between a proverbial rock and a hard place, the consequences of that circumstance having implications for its public image as much as for its ability to hold itself up above the sorts of controversies that impinge on its ability to discharge its responsibilities without having to look over its shoulder to encounter expressions of derision and scorn. There are those who, these days, even question the applicability of the Force’s motto ‘Service and Protection.’
Political parties that hold office in many, perhaps most countries, will always seek to exercise some measure of ‘control’ over the disciplined forces, though, whatever the extent of the altruism articulated in their motives, the motive, at ‘bottom line’ is always one that is underpinned, first and foremost, by self-interest.