Latest update March 13th, 2026 12:17 AM
‘Stop taking bribes’ – Hicken warns police
…outlines GPF achievements in crime reduction, infrastructural upgrades
A section of the gathering.
(Kaieteur News) – Commissioner of Police Clifton Hicken on Wednesday warned members of the Guyana Police Force against accepting bribes. Hicken, who was at the time addressing ranks at the opening of the 2026 Guyana Police Force Sergeants’ Conference, made it clear that corruption within the Force will not be tolerated.
“If you become corrupt is because you have a giver and you’re the receiver. As of today, stop receiving and persons must be charged when they come to bribe the police. I’m making myself very clear or else other things will happen,” Hicken said.
Commissioner of Police Clifton Hicken
The Top Cop reminded that Sergeants are the frontline leaders of the Police Force. “You translate supervision into daily action…You set the tone at stations, on patrol, in traffic enforcement, during investigations, and in community engagement. The public does not see our policies or strategic plan, they see your conduct, your discipline, and the standards you enforce,” he said.
Further, the police commissioner pointed to the 27 per cent decline in serious crimes and credited the reduction to targeted operations, improved intelligence coordination, and the work of 476 Community Policing Groups across the country. However, he stressed that equipment alone does not produce results.
“Equipment and infrastructure do not reduce crime on their own… results are driven by leadership; your leadership,” he said.
That aside, Hicken disclosed that 75 per cent of the Force’s 2022-2026 Strategic Plan has been implemented. He said that with the deployment of 30 speed cameras nationwide under the Safe Roads Intelligent System, there has been a 29 per cent reduction in road accidents.
He said too that there has been an increase in persons receiving e-tickets with a climb from 837 tickets in 2024 to 24, 793 in 2025.
On the infrastructural front, the Top Cop said that 23 police stations have been completed, 10 new boat houses, five command centres, 55 CCTV sites, and the addition of 6,685 body-worn cameras and 942 digital workstations.
Referencing improvements in human resource development, Hicken said that there were 3,510 promotions in 2025 under a merit-based system while 774 new recruits were enlisted, and ranks benefitted from academic opportunities through scholarships, sponsorships and professional training programmes.
Additionally, Commissioner Hicken revealed that the GPF’s 202-2031 strategic plan will focus heavily on innovation, technology and adaptability.
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I have been hearing words to this effect since forever. These statements are issued and nothing ever comes of it. I was at Sparendam Police Station probably in 1996 and from the depths of the station I could hear the sounds of blows being delivered and an Inspector entered and went down to that area so I thought that he’d take control of the situation. All he did was return to the front and closed the open door and the beating continued. Most of these senior officers who make statements like these came up through the ranks and were part of the bribe taking themselves so they know the ropes but just make these statements but will take no action