PSWA President condemns ‘parallel police service’

PRESIDENT of the Police Service Welfare Association (PSWA) Insp Christopher Holder, has criticised Prime Minister Patrick Manning’s intention to set up a special crime fighting unit headed by former Commanding Officer of the Trinidad and Tobago Regiment, Colonel Peter Joseph.

Yesterday, during his two-hour delivery of the 2003-2004 National Bud-get, Manning declared Government’s war against crime by setting up the unit. Manning also an-nounced the immediate promotion of Colonel Joseph to the rank of Brigadier, and his re-moval from Command of the Regiment, in order to better manage the new unit. “The setting up of this unit, which I see as a parallel Police Service, is not going to find favour with the officers of the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service,” Insp Holder declared, during a telephone interview yesterday. He added that it did not make sense for Government to set up such a unit, which would require State resources (both monetary and human), when a Police Service already exists. “If this is the case, is best you shut it (the Police Service) down...what is the sense in having a parallel police service?” Holder asked. He said that the setting up of such a unit would serve to undermine and emasculate the efforts of the Police Service in the eyes of the public and also further erode already low motivation among the rank and file of the police officers.

Insp Holder also criticised Manning by saying that State resources would have to be used to set up this new unit while funding for the Police Service was not at optimum. “How can you take State resources to establish a parallel police force, yet you do not make available these same resources for the existing Police Service? That just does not make any sense,” Insp Holder said. Insp Holder said he preferred not to comment on other aspects of the Budget as they related to crime fighting, since he had not properly examined the contents of the Budget. Acting Commissioner of Police Everald Snaggs told Newsday he would not want to comment on the Budget, since he didn’t listen to the live broadcast of the Budget on the television and radio, because he had to attend several important meetings yesterday.