The Weekend Mirror newspaper on Sunday, June 14, 2009 published an article titled ‘Tenure of Police Commissioner Extended,’ stating “The PPP-Civic government has announced that it is extending the tenure of Commissioner of Police, Henry Greene. This decision was not unexpected since Mr Greene has performed creditably from the time he took over from Winston Felix.”

There should be no need to rationalise an executive decision that is principled. If it is to be done, however, the whole truth should be told. Mr Greene has now served as commissioner for nearly three years − a long time in policing. It is true that his tenure of office was highlighted by the killing of wanted men such as Troy Dick, Anthony ‘Kussum’ Charles, Rondell ‘Fineman’ Rawlins and Jermaine ‘Skinny’ Charles. But it witnessed, also, several incidents which good intelligence could have forestalled, professional conduct could have prevented or in which rapid response could have brought the culprits to justice.

These include the bloody massacre of Kaieteur News staff members in Bagotstown-Eccles.  This was followed, a few days later, by the two biggest bank robberies in the country’s history in the aftermath of which suspects were killed in the Black Bush Polder backlands. And, unforgettably, the three worst massacres in the country’s history occurred at Lusignan, Bartica and Lindo Creek last year. All on Mr Greene’s watch!

Apart from these egregious atrocities, the longest, known, illegal, narco-trafficking airstrip was ‘discovered’ at Wanatoba on the Corentyne River and ordinary narco-trafficking continues; armed robberies and other gun crimes have become an almost daily occurrence; allegations of torture of detainees and suspects still surface and fatal traffic accidents take place far too frequently. Most embarrassingly, scores of policemen keep on appearing before the courts on charges of corruption and other crimes.

Minister of Home Affairs Clement Rohee last Friday publicly berated the Guyana Police Force, accusing it of “slackness” at some stations. He complained about the placing of persons in lock-ups without sufficient cause or without conducting proper initial investigations and behaving in an “uncouth, disrespectful and impolite manner” towards persons who approach a police station for help. He also called for police training to be intensified.

These complaints paint a picture that is at variance with the Mirror’s mawkish but misleading rationalizations, and cannot be reconciled with public awareness of crime and police misconduct. The decision-makers in the administration must be aware, also, that the tidings of the gratuitous extension of the commissioner’s tenure of office have been received less than enthusiastically by the Force’s rank and file. Whatever the administration’s middle-term game plan, the immediate effects have been to demoralise the same officers who must manage change and to delay the reform process which is needed to support the Force’s law enforcement effort.

Mr Greene is no newcomer; he has been a policeman for over 35 years. President Bharrat Jagdeo, nevertheless, cogitated for all of 30 months before confirming him as the substantive police commissioner in December 2008, after he had been acting in the position since July 2006. The decision to extend the commissioner’s service was deliberate, not hurried.

Policing is not a one-man show. Teamwork is essential. The commissioner must build a committed command team of seniors, a cadre of competent junior and subordinate officers, and a cohort of well-trained, honest constables. Mr Greene must use this opportunity to inspire all members of the Force to carry out the root-and-branch security sector reforms the country desperately needs to improve the present parlous state of public safety.