Police Officers Receive Training in Customer Service
The Police Training Academy in Belmopan is the location where officers of the department get the necessary physical training and knowledge to arrest crime. But while they get physical training, it is not usual that they learn how to effectively communicate with complainants, as well as persons who walk into the station for assistance from the police. Well, the Eastern Division of the Police Department is providing training to twenty officers on customer care and front desk services. Public Relations Coordinator, Douglas Hyde explains.
Douglas Hyde, Public Relations Coordinator, Eastern Division
“So these two days…we start off this morning with Misses Debbie Sewell, who is a media person herself and very trained in the area of public relations, doing sessions with the police officers. Looking specifically of approaches and on how they present themselves. And then we have our press officer, Raphael Martinez, who’s looking at etiquette and how police officers and approach and better present themselves likewise. And this afternoon, we have a senior retired officer, Miss Yolanda Murray, who will deal with how they answer phones; how they respond in terms of challenges and problems and very much important of the police officers to take ownership and responsibility; when someone comes in, how to approach them and how to direct them differently in terms of the work. And then tomorrow we go into role plays and we have each person doing different scenarios of both the dos and the don’ts within these scenarios.”
Emiliani Briceño
WPC Emiliani Briceño, Trainee
“Us, being the police officers, and dealing with the people in the everyday job, we need to learn how to communicate with them, socialize with them and treat them with dignity and respect.”
Duane Moody
“How is this going to help with what you do on a daily basis given the fact that you are the first person, when they do come in, that you deal with?”
WPC Emiliani Briceño
“Indeed we are the first persons that people deal with; it’s our basic job. When they come in the station and me—I work like diarist—and it will help me because I will know how to deal with them, their situation and treat them in a good manner.”
Douglas Hyde
Douglas Hyde
“It is very important that we appreciate the comments from the general public on how we approach them and the services that we give them. This is one approach to show them that we value what the general public says about our type of work. The training looks at how we can better the services, but also in terms of the police officer. And we hope that by the end of the two days—which is not just the end of the training—we take whatever information or whatever they said there and put it into practice. And we will evaluate and assess these officers likewise. Taking these training likewise, doesn’t give you a perfect chemistry of what happens day to day, but what it does is that it helps the police officer to better address him or herself on how to approach the general public. And we are asking the general public likewise….continue to work with us because at the end of the day, this is what they want to have a better, professional police department and of course police officers. So we are working in those areas.”
Duane Moody
“Is this going to help you guys with the crime situation?”
Douglas Hyde
“It will help us in terms of our approach with the general public and with the way we give services to the general public and this is so important; that the bigger picture is to build a better, professional police department.”
According to Hyde, it is hoped that the Commissioner expands the initiative nationally.
