Dear Editor,
Please permit me to respond to a letter written by Robin Singh and published in Stabroek News on Wednesday March 30, 2022.
In the Guyana Police Force (I suspect like other disciplined services) there is seniority by rank and seniority by date of appointment.
There are several ranks in the Guyana Police Force from Constable to Commissioner of Police.
Seniority by rank refers to a person having a higher rank than another person e.g. a Superintendent is higher in rank to a Deputy Super-intendent, a Senior Superintendent is higher in rank to a Superintendent, an Assistant Commissioner is higher in rank to a Senior Superintendent, and a Deputy Commissioner is higher in rank to an Assistant Com-missioner.
Seniority by date of appointment refers to the common situation where several persons have the same rank but their respective dates of appointment are different. Quite logically, the person who has an earlier appointment date is considered to be senior by date of appointment, not by rank.
Seniority by date of appointment is provided for in Article 211 (6) of the Constitution of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana.
When Commissioner of Police Seelall Persaud demitted office there was no Deputy Commissioner of Police. There were several persons holding the rank of Assistant Commissioner of Police.
When Assistant Commissioner of Police Leslie James, one of several Assistant Commissioners at that time, was appointed to the rank of Commissioner of Police on August 30, 2018, there was no other officer in the Guyana Police Force senior in rank to him.
It must be noted that there has never been a case in the recent history of the Guyana Police Force where an Assistant Commissioner of Police was made to act in the Office of Commissioner of Police ahead of someone senior in rank.
For the record, Mr. Cecil Kilkenny never held the rank of Deputy Commissioner of Police as stated by Robin Singh.
Robin Singh, like so many others who are commenting on what I consider to be the illegal appointment of Assistant Commissioner Clifton Hicken, have failed to recognise the nuances of the situation.
Respectfully,
Paul Slowe CCH, DSM, Assistant Commissioner of Police (R’td). Former Chairman of the Police Service Commission.
