The Disciplined Forces Com-mission (DFC) says Afro and Indo-Guyanese policemen should be deployed together as units of a cohesive national body and parity between the two races in the force is seen as the most commendable balance.

The commission's report says a national personality must be presented and be made to function nationally. The commissioners also believe that a policy of admixture and deployment of all the races, where possible, to work jointly and cohesively will have the benefit of portraying the image of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) as a truly national institution rather than a one-dimensional ethnic organisation. Though, in reality, other ethnic groups will rarely see themselves reflected in the personnel when visiting a police station, if there is a focus on creating a truly national personality and on serving all members of the nation equally, even members of much smaller ethnic groups will benefit from a greater sense of inclusion, the interim report said.

Such a policy is expected to reduce ethnic insecurity fears on all sides of the racial divide and have an internal deterrent effect on any police officer tempted to engage in any form of ethnic bias. Ethnic balancing of the force had been a hot topic during the hearings convened by the DFC which was tasked with producing an interim report.

In the report the commission argues that social engineering and not ethnic discrimination - not even to a limited extent - is the solution to correct the ethnic under-representation in the force. They believe the objective should be to attain a fair and acceptable level of ethnic representation based on the ethnic diversity of the nation.

"The objective should be not the proportionate or even equitable sharing of the risk of racial discrimination by members of the GPF, but the elimination of such discrimination, as far as is practicable..." the Commission says.

They warn that the concept of having the GPF ethnically reconfigured must be so premised that it would not transfer the negatives of the ethnic-political rivalry into the membership of the GPF.

"The existence of the GPF as a unitary body could be racially assailed with disastrous consequences for the national welfare or society at large."

They did however recognise that the implementation of a policy of joint ethnic deployment and assignment requires an augmentation in the membership of the GPF, principally with respect to Indo-Guyanese.

Yet still, to avoid an imbalance in their favour which can arouse ethnic insecurity fears, it appears that parity between the Afro-Guyanese and Indo-Guyanese membership is the most commendable balance and the desirable goal.

How to achieve ethnic parity

The commission says efforts to achieve some level of parity among all of Guyana's ethnic groups in the force must be informed by a policy of recruitment designed and adapted to attract under-represented groups. But this must not at the same time discriminate against any specific ethnic group.

They admit that since admission into the force is best achieved on the overriding principle of non-discriminatory competitive merit, it must be recognised that complete parity may prove to be an elusive objective.

"This objective may well nigh be unachievable simply because merit may prove to be an unruly horse which resists being steered in a particular ethnic direction."

The commission notes that evidence has been adduced that the ethnic composition of the GPF may be in large part driven by demographic factors, like the differing traditions of places of residence and occupations of Indo-, Afro- and other Guyanese.

The view was advanced that the force must be able to offer competitive salaries and non-salaried benefits which are sufficient to induce Indo-Guyanese to join the GPF. While they say this may not be the sole reason for the upgrading of emoluments, they consider that this submission ought to be given serious consideration, depending on the availability of resources, in view of the impact it may have on the prospective stability of the country.

That the rules and practices which obtain in the GPF must be adapted to cater for the needs of an ethnically diverse workforce, was another of the commission's considerations.

This might include the policy of posting ranks at remote locations for extended periods, which may not be ideal particularly for Indo-Guyanese recruits who tend to marry and develop family ties early. In fact, they considered that it is unlikely that any Guyanese police recruits may wish to be stationed for long periods away from their families. The commission believes that no one should be unnecessarily assigned to police stations which are not within reasonable reach of their family homes. And where this is not possible, they say these assignments should not be for too extended a period. Improving family accommodation and family-friendly arrangements to facilitate such a posting is also important.

The commission also says the dietary and religious needs of Indo-Guyanese should be catered for to attract their entry into the force.

"The GPF must be able to provide traditional Indo-Guyanese meals and to provide such meals in a manner which ensures their non-contamination by pork or beef. People also have diverse religious beliefs and, while the GDF (Guyana Defence Force) makes provision for the services of a full-time Chaplain, catering to the needs of its Christian members, a Moulvi and Pandit should be officially appointed to cater for the spiritual needs of Muslims and Hindus."

They also say whatever non-exclusionary innovative practices are implemented must be made public for the information of the Indian community, in particular, since there can be little response without publication.

The report also notes that anecdotal evidence was received by the commission of instances of Indo-Guyanese recruits being unduly pressured by their superiors and trainers to ensure that they leave the force and this may have led to a higher attrition rate in the past.

If this is true they say, such superiors and trainers do untold damage to the image of the GPF and it may be necessary to apply to those superiors and trainers, Section 39 of the Police Act which says such activities are an offence. The commission has nevertheless recommended the introduction of effective disciplinary measures to counter any racial or sexual harassment.

Like in other areas of the report, Commissioner Maggie Beirne held reservations about the final recommendations.

"I agree with my fellow-Commissioners that quotas, conscription and some of the other measures proposed to us are not ideal responses to the serious problem of under-representation of different ethnic groups in the police," she wrote in her appendix to the report.

She was however of the view that it would have been useful to give more thought as to how to give expression to the United Nations' Assembly 1979 resolution that " ...like all agencies of the criminal justice system, every law enforcement agency should be representative of and responsive to the community as a whole."

She said while the chapter does cite a number of current obstacles that should be addressed, it concentrates on the problems associated with achieving greater ethnic balance instead of the ways, short of discriminatory measures, which could ensure a more representative force.

Beirne believes the Commission did not take the opportunity to discuss the many affirmative-action measures that have been tried in other jurisdictions like advertising for recruits in particular venues and ethnic media outlets; bridging schemes to help people meet the academic standards; the setting of targets; the introduction of lateral entry schemes or mentoring schemes; fast tracking suitable candidates; auditing and routine monitoring of every element of the recruitment, selection, training, and promotion process; and perhaps most importantly of all active engagement with community, religious, and other leaders of under-represented communities, to have them actively promote the profession of policing as a proper career path for their young people.

"Though witnesses disagreed as to the extent of the problem of under-representation, its likely causes, and the possible solutions, no one appearing before the Commission suggested that the current composition was ideal, and all were keen on ensuring equal opportunities for all.