Top Cop climbs atop bribes

Mar 09, 2026 Features / Columnists, The GHK Lall Column

(Kaieteur News) – “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.”

Thanks Commissioner of Police, Clifton Hicken, for those comforting words on that Guyanese cultural plague, bribes. Commissioner Hicken is gifted the benefit of the doubt. He is serious, means business. His word is taken. If Guyanese do not have a Top Cop they can trust, then they have only one thing. Nothing. Pres. Ali, AG Nandlall can speak like angels (a public struggle for both of them) about piety for democratic norms, respect for the rule of law and order, and the pristine majesty of the law, but as Guyana’s Top Cop goes, so go Guyanese. If his words represent nothing but echoes in a vacuum, then that’s what Guyanese have. Nothing.

I go out on a limb. Top Cop Hicken means well. The environment is against him. He should know that, having lived with it in his decades of professional service. The man or woman at the desk, on the road, in one or another engagement with the public is the face of the Guyana Police Force. Some at his 2026 sergeants conference may have smirked when they heard the word bribe mentioned. They have been put on notice: smile with the public plying the roads, or crying out for help. And, better still, keep hands in pockets. Top Cop Hicken chose his audience well for the message that he delivered. Sergeants in charge. About corrupters who are bribers and, to close the circle, those in uniform who are receivers. For what are sergeants, if not the counterparts of nurses who know every nook and cranny in a medical facility, virtually run the show. Like nurses in hospitals, so also sergeants who have their own wards to patrol, command with a sharp eye. And a clean, closed hand. With nothing inside.

With no reckless, haad-aaze constable making a fool of himself, and crossing forbidden lines. Bribetaking is one. With no illusions in any sergeant that he or she is an unknown quantity, has some special grant of immunity. Whoever has to be charged, let it be done fairly, and without fear. Some charges take too long to be laid. If Top Cop Hicken is half as keen as I think he is, he must surely know what I mean. Since a helpful mode pervades today, some additional edification is extended to senior brother and Guyanese Supercop. Silence has its uses, circumstances necessitating. Silence can also be deafening, commissioner, depending on the contexts; particularly when who is involved is considered.

If I may, and with Top Cop Hicken’s generous blessing, I’m a cop, too. Uniform, badge, and cap have been given by two constituencies to which he likely subscribes. The first and most important is upstairs. The second is before both of us, in the busy streets and remote villages of Guyana. We both have other constituencies. An observant, engaged Guyanese diaspora. A resident foreign legion. And that indefinable beauty that has its own majesty that’s a mystery. In the event that a man as busy as Top Cop Hicken forgot, I assist. Conscience. Guyanese have a saying, which money would be wagered (scarce, honest spare change, I reassure all) that the Top Cop knows well: like cockroach eet owt deh conscience. The trouble is that there is such an invasion of cockroaches that conscience is an endangered species in Guyana. If Guyana, then I daresay that the Guyana Police Force isn’t exempt.

The objective today is not to disturb the commissioner, but to inspire him. Truth is tonic; never overdosed. Bribes are a chronic problem. Top Cop Hicken has done well, in his warning efforts with sergeants. Sergeants are responsible for constables and corporals. Commissioner Hicken holds in his hands the keys to the conduct of his cadets, captains, and commanders. All should be enlightened on the commandments. Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not covert thy neighbour’s assets. Seeing I’m on a roll, there’s one more for Top Cop Hicken to consider: thou shalt not bear false witness. Thanks, Commissioner Hicken, for this opportunity to serve.

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.)

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bribes, GHK Lall, Guyana Police Force, Hicken, Top Cop

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