New commissioner from outside the service

THE EDITOR: Police Commissioner Hilton Guy has proceeded on retirement leave from the Service after what I would like to describe as having had a distinguished career; he did bring to the Service some of the qualities that redound to its upliftment; had he got the kind of assistance that was necessary to carry out all his necessary programmes. I am of the view that he would have achieved much more. Whether his successor would be capable to carry on from where he had left off, is now a matter of conjecture.  However, one can only hope that every effort would be made to lift the standard of the Service in the eyes of the public which is now at a pretty low ebb.

Ever so often the statement is made that the position of the police often indicates the spirit in which a country is governed. The integral role of the police in any law abiding society cannot be underestimated. Now as we witness the departure of Commissioner Guy, the spotlight now focusses on his successor. The appointment of such a person will require in-depth scrutiny by the powers that be; quite a lot would have to be taken into consideration before such appointment can be made. In recent times, the Police Service has been going through lean periods in the eyes of the general public. The image of the Service has been loosing credibility and, it seems, drastic action would have to be taken with a view to ameliorating the situation. Today we are living in a fast changing world where the demands of society is overwhelming. The Police Service must be prepared to adjust to meet the challenges of our modern-day society.

A lot of the old antiquated and rubber-stamp attitudes will have to go.  Promotion by seniority has outlived its usefulness, if ever there was any, and accommodation made for new ideas. The Police Service today will need to focus its attention on the vast range of talent and techniques that society has to offer in the outside world. Hence the moment has arrived when serious consideration must be given to the question of appointing the new Commissioner from outside of the Service — “lateral entry.” Such appointment can definitely redound to the betterment of the Service. The outsider most likely will bring along fresh ideas and different perspectives, he is going to see things that are wrong that insiders do not see and may suggest changes that otherwise would never have been considered. This is not a question of entirely abandoning promotion from within — its a question of striking a balance, what administration is all about in general. If it is felt that there exist an administrative problem in the Service at present (I suspect there is) then the answer to the problem is to appoint a successor with the ability to solve that problem; whether that person happens to be a foreigner or not is irrelevant.

VICTOR ARCHIE
Trincity