36 new immigration officers recruited

The Guyana Police Force has recruited some 36 new immigration officers after they would have completed a rigorous six-week training programme.
The 10 males and 26 females were extracted from the ten administrative regions and completed the course on Friday.
According to the Force, this training covered several critical aspects as it relates to the daily demands of an immigration officer such as records management, data protection, profiling, interview techniques and trafficking in persons.
Assistant Commissioner Clifton Hicken told the new recruits that customer service is demanded at all levels of any organisation. Hicken commended the new officers, whom according to him, have transformed over a short period of time under the challenging circumstances.
Adding to that, Deputy Commissioner Paul Williams cautioned the new immigration officers of greater challenges ahead.
“As leaders, you will make mistakes, but it’s about what you do when you fall down that matters most,” he said.
Williams, who was also part of the team of facilitators for the immigration course, was taught extensively on ethics in law enforcement and social media among others.
In 2018, the Central Immigration Office issued 150,000 passports to citizens locally and abroad. Through a screening process, it has recorded over 800,000 persons on entry and departure. In light of the decentralisation mechanism, the office has seen much more effectively managed operations, living up to the Force’s mandate to serve and protect.