On April 19, Minister of Home Affairs Robeson Benn and Commissioner of Police (ag) Clifton Hicken held a meeting with more than 100 policewomen from various divisions at the Offi-cers’ Training Centre, Camp Road, Georgetown, where domestic and gender-based violence was among the subjects addressed. In a subsequent press release, the Guyana Police Force (GPF) quoted Minister Benn as calling on the women police officers to be “more empathetic” and “hands on” when dealing with reports of intimate partner violence. Meanwhile, according to the report, Commissioner (ag) Hicken warned them against “exhibiting unprofessional behaviour and trying to settle matters,” advocating that as women, they should be “championing” the fight against domestic violence.
If the above is part of a strategy to make the police more effective in dealing with the devastatingly pervasive scourge that is domestic violence then kudos to the minister and acting commissioner. What they do next will be not only extremely important, but also telling. Among the obvious steps they should take would be ensuring that all police officers have the necessary tools, including training, to deal with gender-based violence. In addition, the police’s zero tolerance for domestic violence, which Mr Hicken reportedly referred to, must at all times include those police officers who are abusers. They exist in all echelons of the GPF.
Of particular interest was Mr Benn’s call for empathy from policewomen; the hope is that the same appeal has been or will be made to policemen as well. Everyone is capable of empathy, regardless of gender. It should be noted here too that empathy is a two-way street. Policewomen, or rather police officers on the whole, would be in a better position to be “more empathetic” if empathy were offered to them by their superiors. Perhaps the minister and the acting commissioner would be kind enough to publicise the support mechanisms in place for police officers in general. Are members of law enforcement who deal with homicides and suicides offered psychological support? What of those whose use of force ends in the deaths of civilians? Does the GPF employ counsellors or psychologists? If not, why not and how soon could this be expected to change?
There is a tendency by many to view members of the police force and/or the military as ‘other’. They are not. They come from the same society as the rest of us. They have the same or similar problems and feelings. This means that global statistics, such as those presented by the World Health Organisation in March 2021 that one in three women in the world have or will experience domestic violence, include police officers as both victims and abusers.
That said, of the 100-plus policewomen who attended the meeting last week with Minister Benn and Commissioner (ag) Hicken, there were likely 30 or more who were or still are victims of intimate partner violence. Unfortunately, the facility with which they should avail themselves as law enforcement officers to escape this scourge does not exist.
While this is an indictment against the GPF, it is not only a local problem. Just as violence against women is endemic in every country and culture, so is that so-called ‘blue code’ by which police officers protect each other and the image of their respective forces. The problem is doubled when both the victim and the abuser are police officers. There is a wall of silence behind which such atrocities are allowed to occur, while law enforcement is lionised as above reproach in these circumstances. This is far from the case.
A limited study done in the US suggests that police officers there perpetrate acts of domestic violence at roughly 15 times the rate of the general population. The study was limited because the researcher found that the data was difficult if not impossible to gather and when available, was “skewed by a culture of silence and intimidation”. In the UK, research done by the BBC in 2021 found that more than 800 allegations of domestic abuse were made against officers and staff over the previous five years, but only 43 cases were prosecuted. A report by the Guardian in March this year, compiled from a series of freedom of information requests, revealed that more than 1,080 police officers and staff accused of domestic abuse were still serving in law enforcement.
The evidence or lack thereof suggests that the situation is similar in this country. When the peculiarities that attend former colonies, like historical trauma and the national culture of secrecy, are taken into account, it is clear that it will take far more than haranguing from ministers and commissioners to turn the tide. There is a very true saying that it is impossible to serve from an empty vessel. One hopes then that the GPF and the powers that be are ready to do all that is necessary to ensure that police officers can serve and protect empathetically.
