Rogue cops making life difficult

The Police Service will continue to have problems reducing the murder rate and other serious crimes in the country unless it is given the manpower, equipment and technology to combat crime effectively.

I heard Paul say during a meeting of the Joint Select Committee headed by Professor Ramesh Deosaran, that he was committed to creating a safer society for all citizens. More than a year later the murder rate has reached unprecedented levels. Many people are even speculating that this year may be the worst ever.

What is needed is for Government to provide funds to the police to purchase more cars as well as all the modern equipment necessary to deal with criminals. Citizens all over the country are complaining that there are insufficient police patrols in their community and they continue to wonder when the police will be provided with enough vehicles to do so. People are also anxiously waiting for surveillance cameras to be placed at traffic lights and other strategic locations in the country.

Commissioner Paul has the Herculean task of removing bad eggs from the Police Service. As long as we have rogue cops, prison officers and soldiers around, the more difficult it will become to reduce crime in Trinidad and Tobago in any meaningful way. Police officers who repeatedly absent themselves from cases involving fellow officers in the hope that the rogue cops will go free, must be removed from the Service. It’s taking too long to deal with the criminal elements in the Police Service, which is not helping to improve the image of this important institution.

It is well known that for many years, people entered the Police Service because only a primary school education was required to do so. The Service may have attracted more citizens if the prerequisite had been on par with that of the civil service. Many bright young people with the physical requirements never bothered to become police officers because they felt that the Police Service was reserved for people who did not do well at school. People are also hesitant to join the police department even today because of favouritism, nepotism and other problems.

Some officers in the past were not promoted even after many years of dedicated service and no one could give them a valid reason for this. Many qualified young people will also continue to shun the Police Service unless it deals with rogue cops and is given the latest technology and equipment to police the country more effectively. I agree with Fyzabad MP Chandresh Sharma that the police exams should be handled by the University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT).

In closing, I wish to point out that if proper facilities are made available to the police and crimes continue unabated, then the Police Commissioner should be forced to resign. However, at present, it will be unfair to ask the Commissioner to do so because he is working with limited resources.

HARRACK BALRAMSINGH

La Romaine