Proud moment for Top Cop: President confirms Seelall Persaud

After acting for almost a year, Seelall Persaud has been confirmed as the Commissioner of the Guyana Police Force and was sworn-in before President Donald Ramotar on Tuesday.

He took the Oath of Office at the Office of the President in the presence of his family, Government officials and senior ranks of the Police Force along with the heads of the Disciplined Forces.

Persaud’s confirmation comes some two weeks short of a year since he has been appointed acting Top Cop following the retirement of former Police Commissioner Leroy Brummel.

President Ramotar, in brief remarks, congratulated the newly sworn-in Police Commissioner and extended his continuous support as Persaud discharges his constitutional duties.

On the other hand, the Police Commissioner stated that his confirmation in the post is marked by both humility and great accomplishments. He noted that his career was a long journey and despite the many challenges, it has been characterised by excitement and great reward.

The new Top Cop committed to channeling his energies towards making the Police Force a professional one and for it to embrace democratic values.

“We have a five-year Strategic Plan that we are implementing. We went beyond that to implement a Social Crime Prevention Programme and a lot of efforts have been made to deal with police excesses and every other thing so those will continue. It’s not like something new will start today,” he stated.

Persaud who is three years away from the age of retirement has almost 31 years of service in the Guyana Police Force, most of which he spent in the Criminal Investigations Department (CID).

The former Crime Chief had led the CID for seven years and spent another 10 years heading the Drug Squad.

Persaud was questioned about his plans to address those reported incidents of Police brutality, the Top Cop pointed out that since he assumed the post last year he has been working on this issue. He noted that some new programmes were implemented and directions have been given to the Police not to hold anyone in custody for minor offences.

Persaud added that even the Office of Professional Responsibilities (OPR) has oversight on the matter. “There is a whole range of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) that have been in place for as long as I know and those need to be adhered to. The OPR is now doing unannounced visits to Stations to check what is happening, give feedbacks and take actions as necessary,” the Police Commissioner mentioned.

On the topic of his plans for the Force’s Traffic Department, Persaud outlined that 2014 was a “bad year” in traffic since there were many fatal accidents, most of which were caused by speeding and drunk driving, as such he will be targeting these two factors. Another programme the Top Cop said is aiding the Police’s work to make the country’s roadways safe for all users is the “Name and Shame” Campaign which he noted has come a long way in attracting more prosecutions in the Courts.

Additionally, the Police Commissioner mentioned that the Force is trying to prevent the routine “traffic stops” to put an end to the frequent complaints of harassment. “So ranks are instructed do not make traffic stops unless they would have seen an offence being committed so no more routine stops for traffic,” he said but noted that the police will continue the routine checks as it relates to crime.

On the other hand, Seelall said that he will also be working on preparing junior ranks to have the necessary requirements needed for promotions.

Furthermore, the new Top Cop was questioned about the Force’s preparedness for the upcoming General and Regional Elections. He responded saying that the Police Force has been preparing for the “side impacts” of an Election since Parliament was prorogued in November last year.

“We started training on Public Order issues, on Elections campaign issues and so on… so that our ranks can have an understanding of what the laws is, what they are required to do and what their role is when they get on the ground,” he stated.

The Police Commissioner further highlighted that the Force is prepared for a worst case scenario as well.