Modern US$28M 12-storey Brickdam Station to become new Police HQ

Construction of the new 12-storey glass and concrete Brickdam Police Station is expected to commence today.
The US$28 million contract was awarded to local construction company R Basso and Sons construction in association with Qigjian Group Company, and is expected to be completed in 30 months.
The modern facility, which will have the capacity to house a total of 2000 personnel, will house central departments such a traffic, finance, impact base and the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).
The building’s design also caters for it to earthquake resistant, and consist of state-of-the-art fire protection and detection systems, advanced CCTV monitoring and access control systems, and a telephone and data connection system to provide 24-hour service.
During his remarks at the sod-turning ceremony on Monday, President Dr Irfaan Ali explained that the build-out of the new station will play a key role in transforming the country’s national security architecture, which is an initiative that aims to ensure Guyanese live in peace and crime rates are low.
“And that is proactive policing and intelligent policing. It is how Police and the how the security architecture build a capacity to help the country in developing a culture of living in peace and that is far different from fighting crime. That is proactively engaging community through community initiative, through community policing, through deploying the intellectual capabilities of our security architecture to infuse in the population a new model of thinking,” the Head of State explained.
Further, when completed, all services being accessed at the Police Headquarters at Eve Leary will be moved to the Brickdam Police Station.
According to the Head of State, this will facilitate the development of Guyana’s first Police Academy.
“What we want to do is move as much of the services from Eve Leary into this new facility that we’re building here because we want to free up Eve Leary to be primarily the Police Academy…when I said our prosperity must lead to the Region’s prosperity this is what I meant. Building our capacity to be leaders not only in Guyana but in the Region so that we have officer, we can have youngsters joining the Police Academy here in Guyana and then working throughout the Region” the President Ali stated.

Devastating fire
The Guyana Police Force’s Regional Police Division 4 A Headquarters at Brickdam, Georgetown, was destroyed by fire on October 2, 2021. The fire which started about 11:06h in the upper flat of an eastern building, spread to several other mainly wooden buildings in the compound, despite the efforts of the members of the Guyana Fire Service who subsequently managed to bring it under control.
All the buildings in the compound have been completely destroyed with the exception of the station lock-ups, barracks and impact base. In addition, a few Police vehicles were slightly damaged, while a number of privately owned vehicles that were detained in relation to matters under investigation have been destroyed or damaged.
All the prisoners, who were in custody in the station lock-ups, were safely evacuated and there has been no loss of Police or civilian life. However, a few Police ranks received minor injuries during valiant efforts to save important records, equipment, furniture and arms and ammunition that have been relocated for safe-keeping, and have received medical treatment.
The fire also damaged a business place located in Hadfield Street behind the Brickdam Police Station.

Arson
On October 7, 2021, 26-year-old Clarence Greene, who was arrested for robbery under arms, was remanded to prison for setting fire to the Brickdam Police Station on October 2, 2021.
He appeared before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts, where he was arraigned on two indictable charges of armed robbery and arson.
The first charge stated that on October 2, 2021, he robbed Chitrannie Ramkissoon of a cell phone valued $160,000 while being armed with a gun. He was later arrested by Police at Leopold Street, Georgetown.
That same day, while being a prisoner at the Brickdam Police Station lock-ups, he unlawfully set fire to the Police station. The accused then reportedly raised an alarm and other inmates were evacuated from the lock-ups.
Initial reports at the time from the Guyana Police Force regarding Greene’s confession indicated that the suspect told the Police that he became frustrated after being detained for a long period of time, and he then decided to start the fire. The confession led Police to question all the prisoners at the Brickdam Station at the time of the incident.
Two informants were taken from the Brickdam lock-ups to the Sparendaam Station, where they were placed in a cell with the suspect. During that time in the cell, the suspect allegedly informed the men that it was he who had started the fire which destroyed the Police station.
The two men said the suspect allegedly told them that he took a piece of sponge, wrapped it on a piece of wire, and lit it with a cigarette lighter before pushing it through a ventilation hole in the cell.
Police Prosecutor Shellon Daniels had objected to bail and asked for the charges to remain indictable.