Administrative challenges ahead for Top Cop-in-waiting

Mar 05, 2014 News

The imminent departure of current Commissioner of Police Leroy Brumell at the end of this month could be a double blow for the organization, which could find itself in a leadership crisis.

Outgoing Commissioner Leroy Brumell

Brumell’s retirement will come at a time when another senior officer in Commander George Vyphuis will end his police career, and it will be compounded by the recent departure of former Deputy Chief Immigration Officer Carol Primo.
When the retirement of another Assistant Commissioner Eric Bassant later this year is taken into account, along with the recent sudden death of his colleague Derrick Josiah a few months ago, Commissioner-in-waiting Seelall Persaud will have an almost new slate of what many described as “inexperienced” Commanders to support him in the ever increasing difficult fight against crime.
After Brumell’s departure, which will be followed soon after by Vyphuis’ retirement, the Force will have a component of only six Assistant Commissioners to man the country’s seven Police Divisions as well as major departments like the Criminal Investigations Department.
Add to that the absence of the constitutional body, the Police Service Commission, and the situation looks bleak for the Force, at least in the short term.
One observer noted that the present situation points to poor management of the Force.
Already there is some reshuffling taking place to fill the holes left by retiring officers.

Commander George Vyphuis

Senior Superintendent Dale Alves, who was previously Commander for the Essequibo Division, has taken over as the Head of the Immigration Department. His position has been taken by Superintendent Kevin Adonis, who previously acted as Traffic Chief as well as Head of the Special Constabulary.
Adonis’ move from the Special Constabulary has forced the police to call upon its Head of Sports, Colin Boyce, to fill the gap.
But perhaps the most contentious issue is who will fill the void left by Vyphuis when he retires as the ‘A’ Division Commander. Assistant Commissioner Vyphuis will take with him several years of experience as ‘A’ Division Commander and most of the current Commanders with their relative lack of experience in such positions will be hard pressed to fill the gap, especially in a Division that attracts the most scrutiny.
Vyphuis should have been enjoying his pre-retirement leave since last year, but the death of Commander Josiah resulted in him accepting payment in lieu of leave just to ensure that there was somebody with the required experience to head the important ‘A’ Division.
However, a former top police officer, who is now a high-level executive in the private security sector believes that the situation as it currently exists, does not facilitate the proper upward mobility of those officers who act as deputies to the Commanders.
He is of the view that in the case of ‘A’ Division, Vyphuis’ replacement should already be in position, rather than waiting until the very last day that the current commander will be in office, before taking over.

Commissioner-in-waiting, Seelall Persaud

“Allowing the Commanders to head the division up to the very last day of their service has not done the Force any good, and it is a disservice to the deputies who will eventually have to take over. This way of administering the Force has resulted in little or no growth or development for these Deputy Commanders,” the former policeman told this newspaper.
A closer look at the top brass of the Guyana Police Force will show that when both Brumell and Vyphuis leave, Seelall Persaud, Balram Persaud and David Ramnarine will be the most senior officers of the organization.
Balram Persaud, who heads the Force’s Administration Department, has two and a half years left to serve, the Commissioner- in-waiting Seelall Persaud has another three and a half years, while Ramnarine has more than a decade more left to serve.