“No investigation” ongoing against senior officers – Top Cop

Police Commissioner Clifton Hicken has dismissed allegations that have recently surfaced to the effect that reports of corruption and financial misconduct have been made against senior officials in the Guyana Police Force. His rebuttal is that no such investigation is ongoing.
Reports have recently surfaced in the public domain that the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) – an arm of the Guyana Police Force – has been investigating allegations of financial impropriety and misuse of power made against senior ranks.
However, on the sidelines of an event on Wednesday, Hicken cleared up those misconceptions by saying, “No! It’s not true. And I made a release already through our system… There is no investigation going on whatsoever.”
These allegations made against senior ranks of the Guyana Police Force come on the heels of a recent reshuffle of the GPF top brass. Deputy Commissioner ‘Administration’, Calvin Brutus, is now Head of the Special Branch, while Deputy Commissioner ‘Operations’, Ravindradat Budhram, is in charge of ‘Administration’; and Head of the Special Branch, Assistant Commissioner Errol Watts, has taken over ‘Operational’ duties from Brutus.
Following announcement of “the shakeup”, GPF explained that these three senior ranks have been rotated to foster efficiency within the organisation. It has also been highlighted that this “shake-up” is necessary as part of the modernisation plan for the force, according to the GPF.
The GPF’s Strategic Plan 2022-2026 is geared at transforming the law enforcement organisation into a contemporary one through the development of its human resources and other capabilities at all levels.
Home Affairs Minister Robeson Benn joined in at the time by stating that, in order to implement the strategic plan, officers must have the right attitude and mindset.
“There’s a lot of things going for contemporary policing interventions in relation to information technology, and in particular training, but it will all go to naught (even) if you have the physical assets and the vehicles and the best legally trained and other trained managers…Nothing matters if, at the middle level, the purpose, the willingness, the activity and the direction do not integrate [with] what has to happen at the bottom in terms of actions to guarantee security,” Benn explained. (G1)