Serious crimes down by 42.6% in Region 7 – Commander

Police Commander for Regional Division #7 (Cuyuni-Mazaruni), Senior Superintendent Dion Moore, revealed on Monday that during the years 2023 and 2024, his Division recorded an overall reduction of 42.6% in serious crimes.

Senior Superintendent Moore further shared that in 2024, overall traffic accidents in the Region were reduced by 29% when compared to 2023.

Commander Moore disclosed these statistics during a meeting with the Commissioner of Police, Clifton Hicken and members of the Guyana Police Force’s Executive Leadership Team (ELT) including Deputy Commissioners Ravindradat Budhram, Errol Watts, Wendell Blanhum and Simon McBean.

Monday’s meeting with the officers and ranks of Region #7 is a continuation of Commissioner Hicken’s objective of meeting with all members of the Police Force to ‘set the tone’, address issues and outline the way forward for the GPF in 2025 and onward.

Commander Moore along with his officers and ranks from within the Region were commended by the Top Cop and the entire ELT for the exceptional work they have been doing in every area, including crime prevention and detection, traffic management, and community engagement which has led to significant decreases in crime and traffic accidents throughout the Division.

Addressing those in attendance at the meeting, the Commissioner outlined the pillars of the Force’s 2022-2026 Strategic Plan, stressing their importance to the overall development of the Police Force’s infrastructure, human resources capabilities, operational efficiency, and partnerships.

Top Cop Hicken expounded on the six strategic pillars of Infrastructure, Developing Our People, Performance, Professionalism and Accountability, Operations and Partnership. While doing so, he asked random ranks to state the six pillars – as he tested their knowledge of the strategic direction in which the Force is heading.

Commissioner Hicken, a fierce advocate for ‘police-community engagements’, alluded to the myriad benefits of such police outreaches and the importance of fostering and strengthening partnerships between the Police and members of the community. In this regard, Commissioner Hicken urged the policemen and women of the Division to focus more on community-oriented policing efforts and fostering meaningful partnerships with members of the public. This, he said, will play an integral role in helping to reduce crime in the Region.

The Top Cop and members of his ELT spoke about the need for leadership — at every level – and community pride, mentioning the involvement of police officers and the significance of this being an election year.

The Commissioner and his ELT urged the officers and ranks to always perform to their best and aim for continuous improvement and growth — both personally and professionally. Mention was also made about the importance of replacing outdated practices with modern methods, with ranks wearing body cams highlighted as one such method.

Commissioner Hicken also warned the ranks about the importance of professionalism and treating people with respect, and pointed to the need for discipline and the fact that there are consequences for misconduct.

On this note, he stressed the importance of integrity and the need for police officers to be professional in their actions.

Like the Commissioner of Police, the Deputy Commissioners — Mr McBean, Mr Watts, Mr Blanhum and Mr Budhram — all spoke in a unified voice and with similar messaging to the gathering of officers and ranks, during which they shared pertinent snippets pulled from their combined wealth of experience in Policing.

They urged the Police officers and ranks in Region #7 to be professional at all times and be unwavering in their commitment to serve and protect the people of this country.

Before departing, to show his appreciation for their efforts, Commissioner Hicken promoted four ranks on the spot. Those elevated in rank were Woman Corporal Shereen Sealey, who was promoted to Sergeant and Woman Constable Tanesha Johnson, who was promoted to Corporal. The other two ranks were Constables Obadiah Solomon and Alf Wilson. They were promoted to the rank of Lance Corporal.