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Commissioner of Police Dr. Clifton Hicken, accompanied by senior officers of the Guyana Police Force (GPF), recently met with a delegation from the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), led by President Mrs. Kathy Smith, to explore opportunities for collaboration in personnel development, road safety, security awareness, and employee well-being.

Representing the Chamber were Senior Vice President Mr. Gavin Ramsoondar, Junior Vice President Ms. Kristia Ramlagan-Prescott, Executive Member Mr. Delmar Walcott, Councillor and Chair of the Security and Governance Committee Mr. Paul Archer, and Vice Chairman of the Security and Governance Committee Mr. Orson Ferguson, underscoring the Chamber’s commitment to strengthening public-private partnerships in support of national development and public safety.

During the engagement, Mrs. Smith provided an overview of the GCCI’s structure and acknowledged the longstanding support provided by the Guyana Police Force, particularly through its Traffic Department. Discussions focused on how the private sector could contribute expertise, training, sponsorship, and other resources to strengthen key GPF programmes and initiatives.

Among the areas of collaboration explored were structured symposiums for both male and female ranks, specialised professional development programmes, road safety and traffic management initiatives, CCTV awareness, reproductive health education, National Insurance Scheme (NIS) and social security awareness, professional etiquette and presentation, physical fitness, leadership and management development, and transition-to-civilian-life preparation for serving ranks.

The meeting also highlighted the importance of strengthening collaboration between private-sector security personnel and the Guyana Police Force, while enhancing the business community’s understanding of evolving policing policies, security priorities, and operational strategies.

Discussions also centred on the development of a formal symposium programme, the establishment of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two organisations, and recurring professional development sessions tailored specifically for female police personnel. It was agreed that further discussions would be held to finalise priority training areas, programme content, and implementation timelines.

(𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐛𝐲 𝐂𝐂𝐔’𝐒 𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐭 Melissa 𝐋𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐬)