PoS Mayor wants to recall retired cops

In a report presented at Thursday’s City Council Statutory meeting, the Institutions Commit-tee asked for the City Police to be used to maintain law and order at the Central Market. It agreed that using police officers rather than security guards was key to maintaining law and order at the market.

On the question of the shortage of manpower at the City Police Department, Mayor Murchison Brown said that 42 police officers were to be added to the force but this move was being delayed by bureaucracy.

"The problem lies with the commission responsible just for simply sending out the necessary notices to the 42 persons who have already been chosen and physically examined," said Brown.

Once the notices were sent out the one thing left would be academic examinations, he explained.

The mayor appealed to the Statutory Authorities Service Commission to give priority to the matter. "The whole question of security for the city of Port-of-Spain, and its institutions is important. We are not in a position to have police support at the Central Market, and it is sorely needed there," he said. He explained that police patrols are also needed at squares, parks, cemeteries and other areas.