Declaring that he is fulfilling his Constitutional duty, President Irfaan Ali today appointed Clifton Hicken to the substantive post of Commissioner of Police. He also appointed Ravindra Budhram, Wendell Blanhum, Errol Watts, Fizal Karimbaksh and Simon Mc Bean as Deputy Commissioners.

During his remarks, the President said he has followed the prescribed Constitutional requirements including consultations, before making the appointments.

Mr. Hicken has already passed the retirement age and is currently serving on an extension that was granted by the President. He has become the first Police Commissioner to be appointed after reaching the age of retirement.

The President charged Commissioner Hicken and his Deputies to serve the people of Guyana with respect and conduct the affairs of the Force in a professional and transparent manner.

“The prosperity of every country, lies on the bosom of the security of the nation and that is not accidental and that is why today we have men and women who are placed in position of leadership in the security architecture of our country, to execute their responsibilities in a manner that will build, uphold and extend public trust,” the President noted.

The President said the officers have already been briefed individually and collectively about what is expected of them. He said with more eyes on the Police Force, especially from potential criminal elements, unity of the Police Force remains important, explaining that a Force not unified, could collapse.

He said the Government has full confidence in the six senior officers to transform the Police Force into one that commands full public trust.

“So, I expect the leadership of the Guyana Police Force and all the men and women who constitute this body of service to our country to act together in unity in upholding our constitution, protecting our laws, protecting the people of our country. The mere fact that as President I have appointed these senior functionaries, a Commissioner and Deputies, demonstrate the confidence we have in their ability individually and collectively to get the job done,” the President said.

Just over three months ago, the President wrote to the Opposition Leader on the appointment of the Police Commissioner. The Opposition Leader made it clear that he was not supportive of the appointment.

But the President has praised Mr. Hicken as being fit for the position, since he has demonstrated excellence in his acting capacity.

“Clifton Hicken and all the deputies have shown great temperament over their career, their career speaks for itself, they work in different regions of this country, under different circumstances, tested under different occasions but their strength not only lied in the eyes of God or in their faith but in their love for the protection of the constitution,” the President said.

The President also boasted that the country’s crime detection and solving rate is at an all time high due to the stellar work of the Leadership of the Guyana Police Force.

The appointment of Mr. Hicken as Commissioner of Police has come at a time when one of his closest allies in the Force, Assistant Commissioner Calvin Brutus is before the Courts facing more than 240 fraud and money laundering charges, related to contracts dolled out by the Force under his watch. The appointment has also come at a time when the Police Force is seeing an increase in some of its own ranks facing various criminal charges.

The swearing-in of Mr. Hicken and the Deputies was done away from the glare of most of the media. Media houses were not informed of the event and were not invited to cover it. Most of the media only became aware of the appointments when a Facebook live feed appeared.

The Guyana Police Force has been sheltering itself from media queries and questions.

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