[UPDATED] Police implement phased leave programme

The police service has implemented a leave management initiative where officers are being scheduled to use their leave on a phased and controlled basis. It said the officers will remain available to be recalled if needed.

In a release, the service said the deployment of its often limited resources needed very deliberate and careful management. It said currently, the service is challenged to battle an undesirably high incidence of crime while having to maintain an adequate, competent and effective complement of its human resources on a sustained and protracted basis.

The service said many officers have been working continuously over very extended periods, leading to people having vacation leave entitlements of two to three years in some cases.

“This situation is detrimental to both the officer and the organisation as it presents the potential for issues related to health and welfare, work-life balance, possibilities of diminishing returns for the officer, and loss of efficiency and effectiveness in operations for the organisation.

“It is simply not a viable position.”

It said officers going on leave meant other officers would have to be transferred to fill vacant positions.

It said transfers would be done prudently to ensure officers were the best fit to deliver maximum results in their assigned positions.

“In responding to concerns being expressed about officers proceeding on leave, the administration of the service wishes to assure the public that it remains acutely sensitive of the level of policing that the current crime situation warrants and that its anti-crime initiatives will not be compromised by officers proceeding on leave.

“Further, the administration assures that the process is being effectively managed as it must be, both in the short and long-term interest of the service and the safety and security of the country.”

The service said it welcomed the recent supplementation of the service with members of the Defence Force as an initiative which would provide it with additional capacity to support the maintenance and intensification of its anti-crime operations.

“We see this initiative of leave management as a crucial and necessary investment in improving our overall performance and look forward to having our re-energised officers resume duty to assist us in taking the organisation to a higher level of efficiency and effectiveness in our battle against crime.”

Police Social and Welfare Association president Gideon Dickson said officers who had accumulated two to three years of leave were entitled to go on leave as having that much time accrued meant they would have been working for a considerable period.

“For those who have excessive leave, it suggests one of three things. One, when they might have applied in the past, leave might have been restricted and they wouldn’t have been able to get it at that point in time.

“Two, we are not robots- we can’t work indefinitely so the officers need to get leave. Three- sometimes, officers opt not to go on leave because of a loss of earnings when they go on any lengthy period of leave.

He said officers are entitled to several types of allowances while on active duty but lose those if they are on leave. Dickson said some officers opt to delay their leave so they don’t lose money.

He said the 1,000 recruits promised by the Finance Minister would alleviate the situation considerably.

“Currently, we are 1300-1400 officers short, based on our assumed strength of 7,888.

“We have been working under less-than-ideal circumstances when it comes to human resources, so the attempt at replenishment is welcome. He said the association believes the recruits were not coming fast enough as more was being demanded of the officers, especially since 2019, when leave restrictions were implemented. “But the reality is that there’s only so much you can give, and we need to recharge to go again. The present case of our leave restrictions needs to be revisited because we don’t want officers to burn out or fall ill on the job because they would be of no use to the stakeholders they are supposed to serve.” Reports are senior officers to be sent on leave include senior superintendents Roger Alexander, Anand Ramesar, Brian Ramphal, Richard Smith and Oswain Subero.

Dickson said the leave of these officers was being staggered so everyone would not be going on leave at the same time.

“There will be some continuity, some overlap over a period of time. People will be sent on leave with a view of them being able to replenish and also opportunities will be presented for others to pick up acting appointments and others who are already on leave to come off leave, so it’s moving pieces at the same point in time.”

Speaking on the Beyond The Tape programme on TV6 on Thursday, Alexander would neither confirm nor deny the authenticity of a document circulating on social media which said he was entitled to 733 days of leave.

“I don’t know where you get the document from. There’s probably some legitimacy involved in it, I have yet, I cannot say I don’t have the document in my hand at this time, it’s on social media.

“It could be artificial intelligence that has caused that document to appear. I have seen several documents, but I can’t identify the document properly based on how it’s presented on social media. I plead the fifth, and if you have any other questions to ask me, ask my legal counsel.”

He explained some of the factors which could influence how officers use their leave.

“Every police officer has a vacation leave entitlement, and how you utilise that will depend on a number of issues. There was a time when the service was not granting leave to people. “Or someone just continues working because he would have structured his years to reach a particular amount and then proceed on the rest of his leave, it depends. That leave is an entitlement by police officers. It doesn’t matter whether or not I’m on leave if something is happening in the country, I will be responding.”

This story has been adjusted to include additional details. See original post below.

The police service has implemented a leave-management initiative in which officers are being scheduled to use their leave on a phased and controlled basis.

The officers will remain available to be recalled if needed.

In a release, the service said the deployment of its often limited resources needed very deliberate and careful management. It said currently the service is challenged to battle an undesirably high incidence of crime, while having to maintain an adequate, competent and effective complement of its human resource on a sustained and protracted basis.

The service said many officers have been working continuously over very extended periods, leading to members having vacation leave entitlements of two-three years in some cases.

“This situation is detrimental to both the officer and the organisation as it presents the potential for issues related to health and welfare, work-life balance, possibilities of diminishing returns for the officer, and loss of efficiency and effectiveness in operations for the organisation. It is simply not a viable position.”

It said officers going on leave meant other officers would have to be transferred to fill vacant positions. It said transfers would be made prudently and with the objective of ensuring that officers were the best fit to deliver maximum results in the positions they were assigned to.

“In responding to concerns being expressed about officers proceeding on leave, the administration of the service wishes to assure the public that it remains acutely sensitive of the level of policing that the current crime situation warrants, and that its anti-crime initiatives will not be compromised by officers proceeding on leave.

“Further, the administration assures that the process is being effectively managed, as it must be, both in the short and long-term interest of the service, and the safety and security of the country.”

The service said it welcomed the recent supplementation of the service with members of the Defence Force, which would provide the police with additional capacity to support the maintenance and intensification of its anti-crime operations.

“We see this initiative of leave management as a crucial and necessary investment in improving our overall performance and look forward to having our reenergised officers resume duty to assist us in taking the organisation to a higher level of efficiency and effectiveness in our battle against crime.”

The release comes amid reports that several senior officers were being sent on leave for several months at a time.