First Female Chief Constable, Gail George, is a ‘Special Person’

May 23, 2010 News

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“I never thought that it would have happened. I was one woman among six men from the Constabulary and other military services who applied for the position…I wasn’t pushy, I didn’t have nice words to tell the interviewers, so I never dreamt that I would have been the person chosen.”

By Sharmain Cornette
By proving her worth in a world that was then and even now regarded a man’s arena, one woman, Gail Loretta George, has stood out. Today she is nothing less than a role model to several women even though most may never have the courage to venture the path she did.
There is no mistaking the fact that she came through the ranks and has been able to secure an outstanding place for herself in history. George has for the past 13 years held the position of Chief Constable of the City of Georgetown; a position that no other woman before her has held in this country.  She has been credited with single-handedly training the largest amount of persons entering the constabulary, a figure that surpasses 60 to date.

But George’s tenure in the capacity she has held for more than a decade is drawing to an end thus her story must be told, even if merely in concise form in a newspaper article.
Born to Winston and Florizel George in the West Bank Demerara community of La Grange, on October 6, 1955, Gail was the eldest of nine siblings. With a home-maker for a mother and a doctor’s assistant for a father, it was no easy task for such a large family to thrive financially.
She remembers growing up in the village of Bagotsville, also on the West Bank of Demerara, with her five sisters and three brothers. And it was while they were all still young she recounted that her parents separated, putting an even greater strain on the family’s wellbeing. But support, she revealed, was forthcoming from her maternal grandmother and other relatives who helped with her upbringing. Her father still contributed to some extent.
George attended St Thomas’ Anglican School in Bagotsville and remembers attending a private school as well. However, a secondary education would not materialise for her, a situation which was caused by no fault of the young lass.
“After Common Entrance I did not go to secondary school because I had some problems. The results came that I was the third successful student at Common Entrance but I don’t know how they did it…but somebody saw some scratches and that was it. It was as if it was tampered with.”
Understandably she was terribly disappointed at first. However, George’s first move at overcoming the odds became evident when she became a member of the Trade Union Youth Movement (TUYM). It was through this very avenue she was able to blossom academically. She was exposed to several courses like effective speaking and communication. She also undertook a course in Youth Work which did well to boost her morale as a developing young woman.
And as was expected she was channelled into the world of work at a very young age.
“…I was still in my teens. My first job was as a staff trainee in the Guyana National Service (GNS). I saw an advertisement in the newspaper and I applied and was taken on as a trainee,” George recalled.  As a trainee she was exposed to a wide range of training and gained immense knowledge about arms, ammunition, drills, national policy and culture.
Having learnt a great deal, George as a GNS staffer was sent to the Papaya Training Centre where she helped to train pioneers.  As part of the GNS, she was among some of the best products of society including teachers, soldiers and even policemen.
“It was challenging but it wasn’t difficult for me because I applied myself and having been the first of nine siblings I was able to cope with supervising a billet full of 30 pioneers or more. But I was very shy…”
But even though she enjoyed what she did in the GNS, George hadn’t a clear idea of which career path she would embark on.  In fact she remained at Papaya for a number of years before returning to Georgetown. Though she never did get married, she became romantically involved and became pregnant in 1976 and opted to stop working at that point. After giving birth she did the unthinkable and returned to GNS.
“They never would reemploy people like that but my record was good. I was reemployed and was at the Secretariat which was housed where the Bourda Outpost is.”
She would continue there until 1978 when she was transferred in 1978 to Konawaruk Training Centre where she was a Registry Supervisor. Soon after, she was sent to Loo Creek on the Linden/Soesdyke Highway where she was exposed to one year of ideological studies.  From there she worked at the Broad Street Centre of the National Service where she was responsible for organising national policy lectures for the staff.
Lectures were also undertaken at the time by Ms Mavis Benn, a former Mayor of Georgetown, and the two – George and Benn – became acquainted.  Despite her love for her job at the time, George recalls that there were personal overtones that caused her to once again say goodbye to the GNS.
“It was really great being there, but for reasons I’d rather not mention I resigned…but they did not acknowledge my resignation so I just walked off…”
She then commenced studies in Youth Work with the Commonwealth Youth Workers Association and was duly certified by Ms Benn who was still Mayor at the time. She had also pursued studies at the Critchlow Labour College and went on to the University of Guyana, undertaking the Introduction to Sociology programme.
Recognising her ability to perform, George recalls that she was invited to go and work with the Mayor as her personal assistant. She accepted the invitation in 1981.
“I came and worked with her but I had to be sworn in by the Police or Constabulary to carry a firearm. I already had knowledge of firearms so I was sworn in at the City Constabulary as a Constable… I was with her (Benn) up in the Mayor’s Office but I was wearing plain clothes.”
George said that she enjoyed those years in her dual capacity of Personal Assistant/Constable. So dedicated was she to the position, that she fervently studied the by-laws and was able to deal effectively with everything that related to the constabulary as she performed her duties. “…Reading was important. Just by reading and understanding I was able to gain a wealth of knowledge…and knowledge implemented became wisdom and eventually experience. I got a lot of experience, especially in the fields.”

According to George, she would go out in the fields with the Mayor, and though she was a shy person, she was tasked with interacting on a continual basis with persons in the wider society. Her work did not go unrecognised as she would soon be promoted to Corporal then Sergeant even before her path was formally directed to the Constabulary department of the municipality.
She was encouraged to become a full-fledged Constable and she did. However, realising that it was really “a man’s world” at the time, uncertainty got the best of her. She was so intimidated that she inked a resignation and was just about ready to call it quits when the then Officer-in-charge Mr Vernon Lynch persuaded her to stay on.
She was convinced to stay on and would quickly move through the ranks. It was an honour, she recalls, to be recognised as a City Constable; a position that was no less recognised than a Police Officer. “You were respected and persons looked up to you and were able to enforce the by-laws and ensure that the city was a safe place.”
It was in the mid-1990s that things would drastically change; she would no longer be required to just enforce the law but help to manage the operation of the constabulary. She at the time was promoted to Deputy Superintendent/Acting Superintendent at the Administration Section and it was at a time, she noted, when several officers were retiring and others were being sent off.
Mr. Ferdinand Cranmore, an aged officer, who was acting in the capacity of Chief Constable, was asked to remain an extra year. George was asked to work closely with him and learnt everything there was to know that was required of the Chief Constable. But little did she know that her destiny was to take up the reigns of the Constabulary.
“While he (Cranmore) was here I was assisting him a lot and exposing myself to his job and then they advertised for the post of Chief Constable, encouraging applications from within…I was probably the last person to apply,” George speculated. Her application was acknowledged and she was called in for an interview. She was appointed on November 1, 1997 as the first, and so far only, Chief Constable of the City of Georgetown.
“I never thought that it would have happened. I was one woman among six men from the Constabulary and other military services who applied for the position…I wasn’t pushy, I didn’t have nice words to tell the interviewers, so I never dreamt that I would have been the person chosen.”
Admitting that she was elated to be successful, George said that she vowed to take up the challenge with every fibre of her being, a promise she embraces even today as her time at the Constabulary draws to an end. Over the years, she has been able to effect a number of significant changes within the constabulary, though she observes that there is a lot more to be done – undertakings which are perhaps being hindered by limited financial and human resources that confront the Mayor and City Council of Georgetown.
George commenced pre-retirement leave last week Sunday, but is set to officially vacate the Chief Constable post on October 6. She leaves the service holding the rank of an Assistant Commissioner, a feat not too many women have accomplished.  As such, she is hopeful that other women, particularly those already within the constabulary, would follow in her footsteps.
“I have been speaking to the senior women of this organisation, but I know it may not be in the immediate future, because I don’t think presently that they have the drive, but one day I believe another woman would be ambitious enough to become Chief.”
It is George’s opinion that ranks of the constabulary, both men and women alike, should be exposed to constant training, some of which cannot be obtained locally, if the service is to be improved.
But even as she gears for life beyond the constabulary, she hinted her willingness to give back in whatever way possible to the institution.
“Even if they want me to give talks I can do that…I can’t just keep all the knowledge I have gained over the years to myself….I am prepared to continue helping as much as I can even if it is just to help the women find themselves or by talking to deviant people in the society…” The mother of three is satisfied that she will be able to spend more time with her children and two grandchildren – a luxury she could have ill-afforded while in office.

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