‘A space of trust, confidentiality’- Pres. Ali urges professional policing to safeguard democracy, rule of law

Acknowledging that the Guyana Police Force (GPF) has made significant strides in the foregoing year, President Dr Irfaan Ali on Thursday urged the force to now fashion itself into becoming a space of trust and confidentiality for all citizens.

To ensure this, he said police officers must be professional at safeguarding democracy and the rule of law.

“The police space must be a safe space, a welcoming space. A space of trust. When people come to the police, they come with a sense of trust that they will get their matter dealt with.

“… honour, dignity and pride. These are not financial values. They are driven by human action,” Dr Ali said while speaking at the opening ceremony of the GPF Annual Officers’ Conference.

“We cannot hide from this responsibility. When you put on that uniform…you are a different set of citizens who swear to an oath to do fundamental things. To uphold the rule of law and to hold that critical balance in our society,” he said.

Reflecting on 2023, President Ali said improvements were recorded within all areas of the force.

He said during this time, the force has made the “greatest expansion” as it relates to the training for officers and partnership with regional and international partners.

“We are in a situation now where I believe in the next four or five years, we will have a highly trained, qualified and competent police force,” Dr Ali said.

But to keep up with the advancement and to meet the demands, President Ali said it is vital that technology is used to enhance the work of the police.

“… Technology, engagement and community. That is an important part of where we are positioning the Guyana Police Force.

“We are already making those investments. The CCTV, the digitization, the electronic ID, all of these things are going to make policing more innovative, more efficient but more importantly more accountable… Every action will be accounted for. So we don’t have to worry about files missing, files left on the desk,” President Ali said.

Importantly, President Ali explained that the human resources of the force are being rebranded and rebuilt to meet the demands of the future.

“We believe…the police force believes strongly that the assets must match the landscape.

“You can build the best facility but if the attitude of that facility remains the same, then we will be stuck where we are forever,” Dr Ali said.

The conference is being held under the theme ‘Transformative Unity: Nurturing Trust, Youth Development, Professionalism and Safety through Competence and Strategic Partnerships’.