Making of a good Police Service

THE EDITOR: Professor Ramesh Deosaran finds himself in the all too real but unfortunate position of being the bearer of truth. Sadly Sir many claim to want the truth but are all too unprepared to handle it. From many of the responses that have been far too quickly forthcoming, it is evident that many persons have yet to acquire the level of competence which allows them to separate a man from his message. Dear Professor, it is clear that you know your stuff where you have erred is in misjudging those that you hope to stuff. Remember the old dog’s aversion to new tricks?

The fact is Mr Holder the Police service, across the board, is a gross disservice to this nation. There is I agree a lack of resources to confront the rise in crime. Where we would disagree is in terms of what those resources are. Not cars and computers Sir, not more manpower. The greatest asset in any organisation or country is the human resource. Sadly this seems the greatest drawback to a competent Police Service. Even the Minister has had to finally admit what has been evident for so long , the Police do not offer value for money. Your basic raw material is lacking to begin with. I am not here referring to qualifications as you term them. As a matter of fact there is a great divide between qualifications and certification. Five O level passes would not make a better police officer.

The fact is that the myopic and truncated vision of those in authority have not yet caused them to readjust their focus and priority. A better person makes a better anything. Overtime is legitimately outlined in your terms of reference and I accept that. What confuses me is the ready availability of resources to function beyond your standard hours that are in short supply beforehand. The fact is that beyond the friend and family frenzy there are few who actually want to make a difference.

Quality of character, a love for the service and this nation these are just two of many tenets of character, which along with certification of course would set us well on our way. Mr Minister you seem to love parallel services. Maybe you should micro manage recruitment exercises and conduct interviews yourself or with a panel selected by your choosing. That way if the Opposition would not support your misleadingly labelled”Anti Crime Policy” your Government can control the service more overtly by establishing your own. Then one day when the current service finally admits that it is dead and extends us the courtesy of positioning itself for burial, your’s would already be on spot.

M Springer
Arima