| By Dale AndrewsSignificant questions are being raised about the Guyana Police Force (GPF)’s capability to realize President Ramotar’s ‘15 for 2015 plan’, not least is his wish for a faster response time to 911 emergency calls.One gets the impression, though, that His Excellency might not be as well-acquainted with several factors when he speaks about police response to calls for assistance. In addition to the 911 emergency number, police response to calls for assistance may be initiated by calling a station directly; or by personal report at station.First of all, one wonders if Office of the President is aware of the dismal state of police vehicles that daily traverse our country’s roadways, and which are in themselves safety hazards to the police occupants, transported suspects, and other road users.DEFECTIVE VEHICLES AND NONCHALANT RANKSAlmost every day, citizens behold police vehicles without rear lights, broken bumpers and fenders rattling merrily along seemingly without a care about appearances or any consideration to setting a law-abiding example. One morning, a few weeks ago, one police motor car was being driven on a flat tyre along the East Coast, another shameful example is PFF 9126 which can be seen being driven nonchalantly along, with its occupants oblivious to the derisive comments of members of the public.And therefore the question must be asked – does the Auditor General at the behest of the Ministry of Home Affairs conduct an audit of the police vehicles’ state? If yes, when last was one such inspection done?The impression gained is that as long as the top brass are quite comfortable that their personal transport needs are met using official vehicles allocated to them, then it is every man for himself when it comes to performing in service to the Guyanese people. In other words, there is no real concern about making the Force more responsive to calls for assistance, since the accepted lame excuse is that vehicles are not available.The fact must be faced that claimed unavailability of police vehicles belies the public utterances of high officials who are not slow to highlight the vehicular allocations that the GPF receives through capital expenditure. Another issue is the practice of contracting out police vehicles for repairs and servicing while maintaining a staff of qualified mechanics, welders and bodywork specialists on the payroll. This situation is further aggravated by the possibility that the administration may be forced to hire privately-owned vehicles during this elections season.It goes without saying that transport is a key logistical support and plays a fundamental role in assisting police forces the world over, including the GPF, to deliver their services to the public. In that regard, it is essential that the correct quantity and quality of properly maintained vehicles be available if there is to be any significant positive impact on the effectiveness of the police to respond to 911 calls.The information with respect to the number and types of vehicles allocated to the various police stations,Cheap Jerseys From China, divisional headquarters, and general headquarters was not available, but that does not preclude the expectation that managing the vehicles assigned to the various areas should be done so as to ensure maximum efficiency.The Guyanese people rightly need to know whether the force is getting value for money.MONITORING AND ANALYSISThis brings us back to the imperative of ensuring the provision of quality service in keeping with citizens’ expectation of a reasonable response time to 911 calls for assistance.As alluded to earlier,Cheap NFL Jerseys China, several factors should be considered when setting time response targets, and these include: average number of calls; terrain to be covered; distance to be travelled; priority given to particular emergency types; number of vehicles available for patrols and emergency response; and competing demands and deployment strategy. However, just as important is the mechanism which is established to monitor and analyse the performance in individual station districts and divisions. If appropriate and effective performance measurements are not in place, then there is no way that the GPF will be able to assess if its performance is efficient, effective and economical. Furthermore,cheap nfl jerseys online, a comprehensive needs analysis, planning or consultation should be done prior to the procurement of police vehicles to give meaning to any thrust of improved police response. Just as importantly is the fact that the Police Force,Cheap Jerseys, which relies heavily on transportation for its function, should have a system in place to ensure the efficient use of its vehicle fleet including the monitoring of fuel use and mileages.Anecdotes abound about senior officers abusing their position for private benefit in this regard. Fuel analyses should be conducted monthly to ensure authorized, efficient and economic use of force vehicles and their fuel consumption.Police response times are also negatively affected by the practice at some stations where official vehicles are used to transport off-duty ranks, thereby putting additional strain on stations, especially those allocated with only one vehicle. The situation is compounded when official vehicles are used to transport the families of officers on personal errands, including marketing.There is also no evidence that force drivers are required to re-certify or upgrade their driving skill, which could lend to a greater degree of comfort among the citizens who are expecting a rapid response by efficient and qualified drivers. It is unacceptable that police ranks should be injured while on duty because of defective vehicles.It might also be recalled that in a July 2011 incident, a driver lost control of a police vehicle and fatally injured 67-year-old Shantranie Sookdeo, at Enmore on the East Coast of Demerara.COMMANDERS SHOULD BE HELD ACCOUNTABLECommanders should be held accountable for the efficiency and effectiveness of police response in their area of administrative and tactical responsibility albeit with differences in geography, in demand and supply conditions, resource availability and workload.But just as importantly in responding to calls, the central principle ought to be the appropriateness of the response to the circumstances. That is all the more reason why response times should not be confused with timeliness of response. If personal safety is at risk or a serious crime is in progress, an urgent police response is critical. However that should not be taken to mean foolish and irresponsible rushing into a dangerous situation without adequate information and tactical support, as probably occurred in the Middle Street shooting. Indeed some calls may not require a police presence at the same time, or on the same day, or at all.Therefore it is imperative that the GPF administration provide response-grading guidance with respect to calls for assistance where (i) an urgent response is mandatory for life-threatening situations; (ii) an immediate response is necessary for a matter which may become life-threatening or cause serious disruption to the public; (iii) there is a delayed response which says in effect ‘respond as soon as possible’; (iv) there is a routine response for ‘routine matters’ and finally where no police response is necessary.Taking everything into consideration and in all fairness to the police, the public might be unaware ranks performing duties in divisional operations rooms might have to monitor calls involving other emergency services,Josh Hart Villanova Jersey, security firms,Nick Castellanos Tigers Jersey, electronic security devices on government and commercial buildings as well as armed robbery alarms at banks while remaining in contact with police vehicles on patrol.A STRATEGIC RESPONSE TIMES PLANFor the GPF to find its way out of its current predicament the incoming government must insist that the force formulate and present a strategic response times plan for improving response overall, before committing to major new capital investments in this area.The strategy should clarify accountabilities throughout the response system, and develop a framework of indicators and standards to help the administration and the public monitor response performance. However, for these to be sustainable the GPF should also consider (i) developing a fleet management plan to assist in determining its optimal operational vehicle strength; (ii) adhering stringently to a rigid maintenance schedule; (iii) monitoring vehicle usage; (iv) performing life cycle cost analysis to determine optimum operational service and replacement.These are but a few of the sensible actions that can lead to a better response time and ultimately to citizen satisfaction. |
