Despite being faced with a number of challenges, Crime Chief Senior Super-intendent Wendell Blanhum recently completed the University of Guyana’s (UG) Bachelors of Law Degree (LLB) programme and passed with a distinction.
In a recent interview with Stabroek News, Blanhum said that his positive outlook on life, despite the odds stacked against him has helped him to achieve his goals.
“When you shine your own light, dream your own dream, follow your own star, anything is possible,” he said.
Blanhum is the youngest officer to have held the position of Crime Chief and is also one of the most successful in the recent history of the Guyana Police Force (GPF).
Blanhum related to Stabroek News that as he was concluding his second year in the programme, he was transferred to Region One.
However, although he was at a disadvantage of not being able to attend classes, Blanhum said he refused to quit. Instead, he said he dedicated his energies towards completing the programme since his main goal was to excel in his academic performance.
One of his fond memories of his journey throughout the programme ,which acccording to Blanhum played a major role in his accomplishment was the quote “the law is a jealous mistress and requires long and constant courtship. It is not to be won by trifling favours, but by lavish homage” which a lecturer made reference to in a class during his early stages of the programme.
The quote was taken from a statement which was made in 1929 by United States Supreme Court Justice Joseph Story.
“At that time I could not appreciate the true meaning of this statement. However, as our semester accelerated, I suddenly had clarity as it relates to its meaning,” Blanhum said.
He further related that the law required his “undivided” attention which meant that he had to balance his job and family life with his studies. “….My studies often saw me studying in the wee hours of the morning and being confronted with the rising sun. The sacrifice of sleep and the dedication of time to the reading and studying of the law was much like a jealous mistress,” Blanhum noted.
Blanhum was appointed Crime Chief by former President David Granger in June 2015.
In 2017, he was reassigned from being Crime Chief to being second-in-charge of ‘A’ Division and later served in the force’s Projects Unit before taking up command of Region One.
Blanhum’s reassignment was controversial since it closely followed the completion of a Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into an alleged assassination plot against Granger.
The CoI had specifically recommended that the officers that played a key role in the investigation of the alleged plot, including Blanhum, be reassigned, possibly to positions outside of the police force based on their conduct
At the time, the subject minister Khemraj Ramjattan had said Blanhum’s removal from the post of Crime Chief was not a demotion and that he was a “serious pillar” in the GPF and had done a “fantastic job” in the post.
After the PPP/C Government took over office in August, there was a major reshuffling within the hierarchy of the force during which Blanhum was reappointed as the Crime Chief.
Blanhum also holds a Diploma in Public Management, A Degree in Public Management (Hons.), a Post Graduate Diploma in Development Studies and a Commonwealth Masters in Public Administration.
