Reflecting on 34 years of service, Carol Fraser says she would choose the Police Force again if she had to

Retired Assistant Police Commissioner Carol Fraser never intended to pursue a career in law enforcement, but looking back, she said if she had to do it over again, the Guyana Police Force would be her first choice. In an interview with the News Room, Fraser shared that her 34-year journey in the Force allowed her to grow professional and personally shaping her into the woman she is today.

“If I had to do it over, I would chose the police as my career. Because of the police my network is very large, I have been able to travel to countries, to attend programmes and my knowledge gained I don’t think I would have been able to gain it in any other sector.

“It might have been different but I would not have to garner the wide and vast amount of knowledge with me today and be the person I am,” Fraser told the News Room as she reflected on the many challenges she faced and also spoke of the rewards and growth that came from her decades of dedicated service.

“The Guyana Police Force was never my initial thought to be a police but I came to Georgetown and took an interview and the salary at the time was $700 at GWI and after that I was sitting in the living room of a family friend and saw the ad for the police and I looked at the salary and it was $1, 320 and I said this is more than what I interviewed for and I said I can take the shot and see what happens,” Fraser recalled.

The rest was history. The very next day, Fraser went to the Felix Austin Training College at Eve Leary in Georgetown and wrote the entrance examination and was accepted into the Police Force.

But it hasn’t always been an easy journey. Even from the start during her training, Fraser said she wanted to give up.

“There were many times I thought, no this isn’t for me.

“But I had an instructor by the name of Dale Alves and every time I pack my bag to go home while I was training, he would say: ‘if you go now, when things get better you wouldn’t be there to enjoy it and you don’t quit at your first stress.’ So, I kept that in mind but there were still times when I wanted to leave and you had persons there who motivated you,” Fraser told the News Room.

Fraser served as a Constable from 1990 to 1995, she was promoted to Corporal and then in 2004 to Sergeant. By 2007, she was an inspector and three years later promoted to Assistant Superintendent. Six years later, Fraser became a Deputy Superintendent, then Superintendent and in January 2025 she was promoted to Assistant Commissioner.

Throughout her career, she served in key leadership roles including Commander for Regional Division 5, Director of the Command Centre, the first female Manager of the Police Credit Union, Training Officer of Guyana Police Force Academy as well as the Finance Officer and Welfare Officer.

“Working in a male dominated organisation it is not as easy, the bars are not sometimes always equal for you to be promoted,” Fraser told the News Room and so, she took it on herself to do something about this.

While serving in the Force, Fraser graduated from the University of Guyana with two degrees and a masters.  She earned her first degree in social work, second in public management and a master’s in public administration.

“What I did, I pursued my career, I studied other than sitting down and wimping about not being promoted I got in the know, I challenged myself to understand what happens in the Force, how it happens and ofay myself with different departments and divisions. So, even though the promotions were not forthcoming my upward mobility in terms of knowledge within the Force increased,” the retired policewoman said.

Fraser also spent part of career lecturering on domestic violence and child abuse in Guyana. She is now urging officers to be patient and understanding when dealing with abuse victims.

“On the part of the police patience is needed and understanding that the victim always look at circumstances – if I leave, who will take care of my children – and then you have the part where they look at things that help them survive and then on the police side where the victim will come one, two, three, four times and renege and the police have to understand that this is part of the persons having being abused, so you have to be patient with them,” Fraser explained.

She also highlighted the importance of community engagement, especially in vulnerable areas, to better understand the dynamics of domestic abuse and violence.

With a message for her fellow officers, Fraser said she is proud to have been a policewoman.

“You need to work together, you need to look out for each other because even as a police officer, sometimes you feel alone.

“I am proud to have been a policewoman because of the lives I have been able to change and the systems also that I have been able to work and be a change agent.”