By Brooke Glasford
At the core of what I do for work lies communication. Most times when speaking to people I refer to my company as a communications agency, because very simply we help translate what individuals and organizations have in their head into real world communication that is clear and concise. I read a release recently on Facebook about community outreach being done by the Guyana Police Force (GPF) in different areas – I found this release to be so interesting that I delved into the source and landed upon the GPF Facebook page, which is rich in daily releases of good things that the GPF is doing, birthday greetings to staff, updates on crimes and wanted bulletins.
The image that initially piqued my interest is the one below, taken in Annandale in a walk about focusing on engaging the community, Sergeant Fields is seen in the midst of joyful ball, playing a game that is known for bringing Guyanese together. While this looked like any other photograph of cricket in the street, what was most striking was the distinct blue uniforms, but furthermore the desire for relationship– even if found through a game.
There is much that can be said about the current position of the youth of Guyana, and even more if we consider the reputation of our police force. A police force ought to be deemed trustworthy, reliable, committed, and while these are aspirations in Guyana, there are many times where they have fallen short. Contrary to popular opinion, I really believe in the good of our police force, of our military, and truthfully I think that in many ways we, the public, overlook the fact that at the end of the day they truly do put their lives at risk for our sake.
The GPF taking the time to walk the streets and speak to the community, to involve themselves with the children, helps the public to understand that they ought not to be wary of them, that they can be counted upon– while these seem like small, by the way moves, done on an intentional scale, they can really help to rebuild the trust that has long been misplaced.
Now what does this have to do with anything? How does all this public relations strategy relate to the public? The very active Facebook page of the GPF says a few things, first and foremost that strategy is being implemented.
Based on the voracity with which they are posting releases, and in particular the angle from which they are released, one can believe so. Over time they have managed to garner quite a following, more than 100,000 people, in comparison to our population of just over 800,000, that is nearly 15% of our population. From what i’ve been able to observe, those that follow the GPF are rather engaged and mostly supportive – with that said I understand why they choose to be more active on Facebook than anywhere else. With copious outreaches and the positively positioning press releases paired with the recently announced capacity building training partnership program with the NYPD, one is left to surmise that the Guyana Police Force is in the throes of a rebrand. Do you see it too?