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I am leaving enough competent officers behind – outgoing Top Cop
– tips Asst Comm. Cosbert to be new Crime Chief
Outgoing Commissioner of Police Leroy Brumell is not worried about public perception that his departure along with those of other senior officers, this year, will leave the Guyana Police Force without competent personnel to man the various police divisions and departments.
In an exclusive interview with this newspaper, Brumell declared that he is impressed with the work of the Deputy Commanders, some of whom have already begun to serve in a higher capacity.
Commissioner Leroy Brumell
There have been speculations that with the retirement of Brumell, which was preceded by that of Assistant Commissioner Eric Bassant, and to be followed by another commissioner, George Vyphuis, the force will face some difficulty at the administrative level.
This is especially since the departures are occurring at a time when the Force has embarked on an expansive reform process.
However, Brumell does not share that view. In fact, he declared that despite the absence of enough officers at the Assistant Commissioner level serving as Divisional Commanders, there are enough officers who are experienced enough to succeed those who are leaving.
“You got some Deputy Commanders, like Hicken and others , who could carry a Division. Hicken is holding now on West Demerara. You have this boy Watts, carrying a Division; you have this boy Amsterdam who is second in command to Vyphuis; these guys can carry a Division,” Brumell stated.
While there has been talk that the Force is devoid of a proper succession plan, Brumell, who leaves office on March 31, said that he had developed his own strategy to ensure that there is a smooth transition whenever a Head of Department or a Commander leaves the organization.
His method was to increase the autonomy of his commanders.
“I tell them to be like commissioners in their Divisions. ‘Imagine that you are sitting in the Commissioner’s chair and run your Division’. But they have the responsibility of reporting to me at the end of it all. And some of the Commanders, I think, give other persons scope too,” the Top Cop explained.
Superintendent
Errol Watts
He said that the only area he was a bit worried about was the Criminal Investigations Department, now that the current Crime Chief Seelall Persaud will succeed him as the Top Cop in a few days’ time.
His concerns stem from the high number of execution-style killings and the Force’s apparent inability to solve most of them.
“Every time you get an execution-style murder, the first person the president calls is me,” Brumell reflected.
He acknowledged that that was a “grey area” in his tenure as the head of the Guyana Police Force, although he indicated that he definitely tried his best to motivate and encourage his ranks to effectively deal with the situation.
He acknowledged that there is urgent need for much more training in the area of police criminal investigation work.
Brumell, however, feels that there are persons within the Guyana Police Force, who with their vast experience in investigative work, could make a significant difference.
To this end, he singled out the present Deputy Crime Chief, Assistant Commissioner Winston Cosbert as the most experienced investigator in Guyana, whom he said would make a good leader of the Criminal Investigations Department.
“I worked with him in Essequibo; he was the crime man. I worked with him in C Division and I have full confidence in his ability,” Brumell stated.
He said that he believes that the CID would be in good hands, provided the person who he expects to lead it, gets to lead it.
However, Brumell was careful to point out that he will not be making decisions for his successor as to who must head departments and divisions.
Snr. Supt. Clifton Hicken
“If you notice, I am not touching some areas; Vyphuis is going off and I have not appointed anybody to replace him; I’m leaving that for the new administration. But Seelall Persaud is my successor and I expect Cosbert to be Seelall Persaud’s successor,” Brumell said.
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