By Samantha Simon
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Police Commissioner Atlee Rodney has issued a stern warning that he will not tolerate any more excuses from officers claiming they have no vehicles available to respond to emergency situations.
The public has frequently been told that a lack of police vehicles has led to delays in the force’s response times to various incidents across the country.
However, Rodney states that there is a policy in place to address this issue, and such justifications for failing to respond will no longer be accepted.
“It is one of the things that really disturbs us from senior management, because we have created a policy that there should not be an excuse given to a member of the public,” Rodney stated.
“If somebody calls your station and your response is that there are no vehicles available, you are to call another police station in close proximity to have them respond.”
The Commissioner says the force has enough vehicles that at least one unit should always be able to get to an emergency scene in a timely manner through this system of mutual support between stations.
“We have said over and over there is enough vehicles within the police force that we can respond. So if it’s something in one area, there’s another station in close proximity that can respond, or any one of those vehicles attached to police headquarters, [then they must do so]” Rodney stressed.
He has instructed members of the public who are given the “no vehicle available” excuse to report the incident directly to police headquarters, providing details like the time, date and station involved.
This will allow his office to identify and address those officers failing to follow the established protocols.
“When you have that statement made to you, call police headquarters and report the matter so we know the time, the date, and the station, so that we can identify the individuals who are doing that,” Rodney stated.
The strong stance appears to be the Commissioner’s latest effort to improve accountability and responsiveness within the police ranks after years of public frustrations over the force’s delayed response times to emergencies.
