Serving and retired ranks of the Guyana Police Force on Wednesday evening gathered at the Central Immigration and Passport Office to bid farewell to Assistant Police Commissioner Dale Andrew Alves, who heads into retirement.
With an impressive 34 years of service in the Guyana Police Force, Assistant Commissioner Alves functioned in many different areas, among which are the Tactical Services Unit (TSU), Commander of ‘G’ Division, and Deputy Commander of ‘A’ Division.
Retiring as Deputy Chief Immigration Officer, Alves, who also served as a drill instructor at the Felix Austin Police College during his earlier years in the Force, has been referred to by many as “the Assistant Commissioner Extraordinaire”, and both senior and junior ranks from the Immigration Office fervently expressed admiration and gratitude to their outgoing Assistant Commissioner.
Retired Assistant Police Commissioner Dale Andrew Alves with staff during his farewell
While addressing the gathering, Police Commissioner Seelall Persaud noted that Alves had remarkably transitioned from a background in the tactical field, and was able to adapt and function incredibly well in the area of immigration, which requires exceptional people skills and tolerance.
He posited that Alves would be missed, and remarked that Alves was one of the senior officers on whom he could have depended to get the job done.
Assistant Commissioner, ‘Law Enforcement,’ Paul Williams; Assistant Commissioner, ‘Operations,’ Nigel Hoppie; Director of Prisons (ag), Gladwin Samuels, and other serving and retired senior officers of the Guyana Police Force also described Alves’s thinking as “critical”, and “out of the box”.
However, the most impacting remarks were made by those of the staff of the Central Immigration and Passport Office. Through dance and poetry, the ranks sent emotional waves across the room, using bilingual skills, sharing past experiences, and genuinely signalling goodbye to a great man.
In the end, he reciprocated as if he had not done enough; his ‘thank you’ artistically expressed.
Assistant Commissioner Dale Andrew Alves proceeded on pre-retirement leave on February 7, and will be officially retired on April 1, 2018.
He is succeeded by Senior Superintendent P. Langevine, who served as acting Deputy Chief Immigration Officer and Deputy Commander of ‘C’ Division.
