Top Cop wishes Force success ahead of impending challenges

– formally bids farewell to Force after 33 years

With less than a week before he officially leaves the Guyana Police Force after 33 years of service, Top Cop Seelall Persaud on Wednesday afternoon wished the law enforcement agency success ahead of impending challenges the country is likely to face.
This sentiment was expressed at a farewell parade organised in his honour at the Police Sports Club Ground. The event featured much pomp and ceremony as the

Force formally bid farewell to its 31st Police Commissioner.
The ceremony saw the attendance of several senior and junior ranks as well as former members of the Force. In addition, heads of other sister law enforcement agencies and Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan were also present at the ceremony.
Delivering his final address as Top Cop, Persaud pledged his continued support for the Police Force, as he mentioned impending challenges the organisation will face.
“The Force and country at this particularly time, see several factors that will contribute to an environment that is likely to pose a greater challenge to the Force in the future. Those will include the operation of western businesses in Guyana and the raise of terrorist threats within the region. I’m sure the Security Sector Reform study that was conducted recently would have addressed most of those issues, if not all. And so, I want to wish my successor and his team at the top

management, the best for the future… my full support will continue to be with them,” he posited.
During his eight-minute long speech before a packed gathering, the outgoing Commissioner reflected on his years of service saying the varying exposures he has had in the Force contributed significantly to his development over the years. He added that the training and interactions he has had locally and overseas have certainly impacted his development through a unique brand of learning experience.
Touching on his work over the years, the outgoing Top Cop reflected on the last four years at the helm of the Police Force which saw him crossing unchartered territories, particularly as it relates to building public trust and improving the

Force’s welfare as well as capacity.
Persaud went on to recognise that he would not have had such a “good journey” in the country’s premier law enforcement agency without the unwavering support of his family and the commitment of both senior and junior ranks he worked with over the years.
“I was a long, eventful but enjoyable journey that I have had, and I did not come this distance in isolation. So there are many whom I need to thank for it; highlights of those, I’ll start by thanking God for bring me this far. I’m leaving the Force in good health and with full confidence of facing and going into the next phase of my life,” posited the Commissioner.
The Essequibo-born Persaud joined the Force in October 1984 and served in several high ranking positions including Head of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) before being appointed acting Commissioner in 2014. His confirmation as Top Cop then came the following year. During his three-decades plus years of service, he was awarded the Disciplined Services Medal (DSM) for his “dedication to duty and steadfastness of mind and body”. He also used opportunities afford to him to obtain a Degree in Public Management and Diploma in International Studies.
Persaud also served as Chairman of the Caribbean Working Group on Illicit Narcotics, Chairman of the Caricom Standing Committee on Intelligence and Guyana’s Expert on the Multilateral Evaluation Mechanism of the OAS (2009-2013) respectively.
More recently during his four-year tenure at the helm of the Police Force, the outgoing Top Cop spearheaded several projects aimed at building public trust and boosting not only the Force’s capacity but its welfare as well. These include the highly successful social crime prevention programme, the establishment of the Fallen Heroes Foundation and the procurement of a US$2.6 million donation in vehicles from the Chinese Government, among others.