-to focus on youth and communities
WITHIN a matter of days, the Guyana Police Force (GPF) will have a new Police Commissioner in the person of Seelall Persaud, present Deputy Commissioner and Crime Chief.Approached last Friday by the media, Deputy Commissioner, Seelall Persaud told reporters that he has served the GPF for the past 30 years, and has more recently been acting as deputy to the present Commissioner of Police.

He declared himself ready to assume administration of the Force, and opined that it will not be much of a challenge since he is already familiar with its operations and workings.

He told reporters that he both expects and knows that the transition would be a smooth process come the end of March, when sitting Police Commissioner Leroy Brumell officially retires from the GPF.

While it is not a familiar sight to see Deputy Police Commissioner Seelall Persaud in police uniform, given the department in which he serves, it is not clear if, as the country’s chief security officer, Persaud would be wearing police uniform, or whether he would continue in civilian garb.

Because the Police Service Commission is not in place, when Mr Persaud takes over controlling the reins of the Guyana Police Force, he will have to act in that capacity until that body has been constituted.

Asked what would be some of his first orders on assuming the position of Commissioner, Mr Persaud disclosed that while he plans to look at several changes, much of his attention would be directed towards working with the various communities and their young people.

He pointed to the need for the Guyana Police Force to embark on an aggressive campaign to regain the public confidence, and he said this move can be most effective, since young people are the ones who have “a lot to tell and know a lot about a lot.”

Mr. Persaud is presently heading several countrywide community-based programmes which are run by the police force, especially in high-risk communities such as Albouystown, Agricola and those on the East Coast of Demerara and in Berbice.
By Leroy Smith