Dear Editor,
Please permit me to make another call for the establishment of a Behavioural Science Unit in the Guyana Police Force. Recent utterances by Senior Superinten-dent of Police, Calvin Brutus, during the launch of a Train – Trainers’ – Course, conducted in collabora¹tion with the University of Guyana, has caused me to, again, renew my call for the establishment of this Unit. However, let me digress a bit and set the record straight. Calvin Brutus is not a Deputy Commissioner of Police or acting Deputy Commissioner of Police as is propagated by himself, certain sections of the media and others. His substantive rank is Senior Superintendent of Police.
According to a local news report, Senior Superintendent of Police, Calvin Brutus posited, “The use of force seems to be one area we’re lagging behind in, and in that regard, many locations, and even some individual members, are now currently blacklisted by the US State Department. Training is one area that will assist us to get beyond the blacklisting so that we can benefit from closer collaboration with the US Embassy.” This statement is quite revealing. Was he forced to make such a revelation? Was the statement free and voluntary? It begs many other questions: Is it fact that policemen had their US visas revoked? Were policemen denied visas to enter the United States of America and other countries to attend training sponsored by the US Government? Is it that certain policemen are debarred from participating in training programmes conducted locally and sponsored by the US Embassy because of their use of force? In another article I will address the use of force.
Recently, a policeman attached to the SWAT squad was placed before the Court for the unlawful shooting to death of an unarmed civilian in his bed at Dartmouth, and a police corporal appeared before a Magistrate at the Vigilance Magistrate’s Court charged with causing death of two youths by dangerous driving. Facebook, TikTok, WhatsApp, Messenger and other social media platforms are filled with inappropriate behaviours by policemen of all rank. Some of the unsavory videos were even posted by the policemen themselves, dressed in uniform. The recent USAID report on the GPF is very instructive. The police administration appears to be incompetent to quell this sad state of affairs. It boils down to one word – behaviour. According to Harold Russell and Allan Beigel, “Behaviour is a major phenomenon that the police must deal with, not only the behaviour of criminals, but also the behaviour of the general public, the behaviour of his family and his own behaviour. He must learn more of the behaviour and the behavioural science if he is to effectively and safely carry out his job. “
What is needed is a system to identify these problem officers early and take corrective action. Walker et al. (2000) suggest, “Early Warnings (EW) systems are data – driven management tools for identifying police officers with performance problems and for providing some intervention to correct those problems. EW systems have emerged as popular tools for enhancing police accountability. “Accord-ing to Arnold (2001), “These systems have, to a limited degree, provided a ‘heads up’ regarding behavioural problems with police officers and afford the agency an opportunity to implement remedial action.” Rhyons and Brewster (2000) caution: “An early warning system is not a substitute for good supervision. Instead it is a tool designed to help good supervisors become better.” Here is where a Behavioural Science Unit will fit nicely into play. Several years ago I graduated from the Federal Bureau of Investigations National Acadamy. During my groundings with my fellow senior law enforcement officers from around the world I was introduced to the Behavioural Science Unit.
My interactions with the Unit then and thereafter enabled me to effectively deal with members of the public in my role as a policeman and with my friends and family. My friend and co-accused, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Paul Slowe (Ret’d), who preceded me at the Federal Bureau of Investigation National Aca-demy benefited greatly from his interactions with the Behavioural Science Unit. Similarly, members of the GPF can benefit tremendously from the establishment of a Behaviour Science Unit in the GPF. Such a Unit, if properly constituted and well-staffed, not just employing an inexperienced person as a psychologist as was done recently, will go a long way towards influencing acceptable behaviour from policemen at all levels, thereby promoting public confidence in the Force that is sadly lacking. May God bless the Guyana Police Force.
Sincerely,
Clinton Conway
Assistant Commissioner of Police
(Ret’d)