The Acting Political Chief of the U.S. Embassy, Henry Rector met with the top brass of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) including Commissioner of Police Clifton Hicken at his Eve Leary, Georgetown office.
This meeting signaled the launch of the Better Police Readiness in Caribbean Law Enforcement Organizations (B-PRO) Project. Funded by the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) and implemented by the Pan American Development Foundation (PADF), this initiative seeks to advance law enforcement practices throughout the Caribbean, with targeted enhancements within the GPF.
The B-PRO project in Guyana aims to fortify the GPF’s organizational and administrative structures, enforce rigorous procedures for ethics, transparency, and accountability in the GPF’s Office of Professional Responsibility, boost the training and development of GPF officers with specialised courses and ongoing learning opportunities, elevate the proficiency of GPF Criminal Investigation Department officers in managing criminal investigations, and equip the GPF academy with sophisticated tools for evaluating and assessing officer performance.
Additionally, the gathering welcomed three PADF experts who are set to conduct preliminary assessments with various GPF departments this week. These include a data analytics and governance specialist, Christian Peterson; a forensic evidence expert and certified crime scene analyst, Jeffrey Shearer and a law enforcement organizational management expert and nationally certified instructor, Dr. Robert Brzenchek,
The meeting also included U.S. Embassy INL Specialist Alana Bumbury-Walton; PADF Project Coordinator Wynette Oudkerk; Deputy Director Tonia Newton, and Woman Superintendents Nicola Kendall, Head of the Strategic Planning Unit for Police Reform and Director of the Guyana Police Force Academy, Sonia Herbert
