Corruption in recruitment of SRPs

THE EDITOR: I would be gratified if the Commissioner of Police Mr Snaggs could address the following for me. Why is it that to date the 1,000 trained SRPs that have been promised by year’s end are not yet delivered. I began the process as an SRP Hopeful but what I have experienced and witnessed have made me an SRP Doubtful. I am at pains to understand how a number of “recruits” could have had their names appear on lists and even placed in squads only to be told that training had been suspended “until further notice.” Now that training exercises have resumed a number of them are yet to be called out, while the children and friends of officers who fall well beneath the criteria, both in qualification and character have been enlisted.

How could it be that a “recruit” could stand in full view and hearing of others and mouth off to a Corporal, the Cor-poral in charge of training no less, and then present herself to the Barracks as though nothing had happened. This young lady was not only reinstated, she now leads a squad. Imagine that. How is the face and morale of the Police Service ever to change for the better when incidents such as these go un-checked? Could you explain this to me Mr Snaggs? How is it that persons who were called out not once, or even twice but far more times, who scored 90 and above in the dictation, passed all medical examinations and whose fingerprints were sent to CID since October and have no criminal record, remain at home when persons who have not even completed their medicals are at Piarco to be trained? Again, it’s not what we know but who! How are we ever to expect to eradicate corruption, the root of all crime, when corruption is raring its ugly head in the very force that we are supposed to be engaging to combat it?

When the son of a Corporal who does not even have a Grade 1 or 2 in English and nothing higher than a 3 in anything else can reach into training before persons with clean records and medicals who are the holders of three and more Grade 1 passes, then we know why crime will continue to take a bite out of us and not we a bite out of crime. From the beginning, nepotism, incompetence and corruption have marred the process of the recruitment and training of the SRPs as no doubt it probably does the regular police force. How then are we ever to withstand a criminal element that is very much competent, organised and drafts only the best into its ranks?
Please Mr Snaggs answer me this.

EMILY MOLLINEAUX
Port-of-Spain