As the Guyana Police Force celebrates its 177th anniversary, the Force has distributed a total of .8 million in awards to several ranks and other security officials who were recognised for their outstanding work thus far in the year.
Police Commissioner Seelall Persaud
Some 1275 ranks across the country received monetary awards for their performances while Community Policing Group (CPG) members were presented with commendation certificates for their contributions towards maintaining law and order.
According to Police Commissioner Seelall Persaud, the Anniversary Award Ceremony not only recognises high performers but also serves as a motivator for other ranks to follow suit.
Sergeant Singh attached to the Vreed-en-Hoop Police Station receives the award for leading his team in recovering close to $1 million that was stolen during the Princess Casino robbery
“It allows us several opportunities. One, recognising those high performers; does quite a bit in moral building, and also informs the membership of the Force on what the Force sees as productive behaviour so that they themselves can strive to achieve the goals their colleague who were awarded achieved,” he remarked.
Persaud added too that the award ceremony, which is held twice per year, also provides the opportunity for the Force to do a mid-year review of its performance. On this note, the Top Cop outlined that the Force has successfully policed three of the country’s main events in the first half of the year with little or no security glitches.
These events were the Local Government Elections held in March, the 50th Independence Anniversary celebrations in May and the Caricom Heads of Government Conference which was held last week.
“All three events would have put heavy demands on the Force, and it is the discipline and dedication to duty by our ranks and by ranks in our sister organisations that would have seen that security at its optimum level,” he stated.
Nevertheless, Persaud noted that the Force will continue to strengthen its capacity with the induction of more Police Officers while at the same time build on its current capacity by continuously training and developing its ranks.
In this regard, the Police Commissioner disclosed that so far in 2016, 438 new ranks have been recruited with another 300 ranks expected to be graduated later in this month. Additionally, he also mentioned the 128 Police ranks that travelled overseas to receive treatment.
The Top Cop went on to say that several officers would have also completed their tertiary education while others are in the course of furthering their studies. He also recalled two senior officers who received national awards from Government; one of whom is Senior Superintendent Maxine Graham, who is also scheduled to receive an international award from the International Women Police Association.
Police Commissioner Persaud also outline a plethora of measures taken to enhance the operations of the Guyana Police Force to better serve the Guyanese public.
The GPF Anniversary Award Ceremony commenced in July 1999 and to date, some $128 million has been awarded to ranks.
On Wednesday, there were 19 instances of special performances in specific cases for which 81 ranks received monetary awards. Some of the cases that stood out where two Constables from D Division (West Demerara) who were awarded for arresting a Police Corporal who was in possession of an unlicensed pistol and 14 live rounds. They were awarded $15,000 each.
Special mention was made of the Ramada Princess Hotel Casino robbery for which the investigators were awarded for displaying integrity and professionalism when they recovered and handed over $922,500 in cash that was stolen from the entity. They five officers were awarded a total of $60,000.
Moreover, awards were also given to subordinate officers who came out on top of the Force’s Inter-Divisions and Branches Best Kept Environment Competition. The top prize for this award went to the Ameila Wards Police Outpost while the Bartica Police Station came in second and third place went to the Aurora Police Station.
In addition to the Police officers, some 13 community policing groups and 13 rural constables across the country were also recognised for their work.
