HGP Nightly News – Questions over command discipline inside the Guyana Police Force are now under sharper focus after a controversial anti-crime stop involving a woman who reportedly identified herself as a police officer.
Commissioner of Police Clifton Hicken has since made it clear that senior officers may only intervene in operations involving junior ranks if established procedures and Standard Operating Procedures are followed.
Speaking during the Police Round-Up programme, Hicken acknowledged concerns surrounding the incident, which gained public attention after a video was widely circulated.
According to reports, the woman was stopped by an anti-crime corporal after ranks observed a vehicle with tinted windows and an obscured registration plate. During the encounter, she reportedly contacted Deputy Commissioner of Police and Head of the Special Organised Crime Unit, Fizal Karimbaksh, who allegedly instructed the rank to release her.
The incident has raised public concern over whether seniority within the Force can be used to interrupt or override frontline enforcement action.
Hicken said the matter is now before the Office of Professional Responsibility, which is investigating the circumstances surrounding the interaction. He said the review is expected to determine whether the conduct of those involved was in keeping with the Force’s rules and procedures.
The Commissioner explained that senior officers are not barred from intervening in operations. However, he stressed that any intervention must be guided by situational awareness, proper command judgment and established policing procedures.
His comments suggest that the issue is not simply whether a senior officer can give instructions, but whether those instructions are lawful, justified and consistent with the standards expected in police operations.
The matter has also drawn criticism from Opposition Member of Parliament Sherod Duncan, who said the incident raises serious questions about consistency, command discipline and the equal application of the law.
Duncan argued that ranks conducting anti-crime operations must be allowed to act on visible violations and reasonable suspicion. He warned that interrupting a lawful stop without transparent justification could undermine public confidence in the Police Force.
He also questioned whether internal hierarchy was being used to support enforcement or to bypass it.
According to Duncan, the issue goes beyond one traffic stop. He said it touches directly on the credibility of law enforcement and the principle that no individual or unit should operate above the law.
Duncan has called on the Guyana Police Force and the Ministry of Home Affairs to provide a clear explanation of what occurred, the legal basis for the reported intervention and whether disciplinary or corrective action will follow if wrongdoing is found.
For now, the matter remains under investigation by the Office of Professional Responsibility.
The outcome of that probe is likely to determine whether the incident is treated as a misunderstanding, a breach of procedure or a deeper test of command discipline within the Force.
