PM: Police reform is about the country, not the Govt

“This (the passage of Police Service Reform legislation) is not about the Government. This is about the country,” Prime Minister Patrick Manning told members of the business community yesterday. The Prime Minister continued his efforts to mobilise support for the Police Bills yesterday as he met with 22 representatives of several business organisations from East, Central and South Trinidad. Manning also invited the Media Association of Trinidad and Tobago to  attend the meeting. The Prime Minister told businessmen that the current system of management in the Police Service could not effectively produce the results that the country needed from the service. At the end of the meeting, however, there were mixed responses to Govern-ment’s legislative proposals.

Feeroz Khan of Couva/Point Lisas Chamber, said they agreed that crime had reached a level that was most unsatisfactory for most of the population, and that something had to be done. They said a package of measures must be implemented so that citizens can feel safe. Stating that the bill was not a “cure-all,” he stressed that there were many things which Government could do to improve the crime situation, “quite apart from the bill,” such as ensuring that the police were properly equipped, that more technology was used and that there were more vehicles. What were his views of the Police Management Authority? “Nearly 20 years we said we would reform the health services by the creation of the RHAs ...20 years later we are no closer to the efficient delivery, so simply transforming the delivery of a service from one institution to another is not necessarily going to solve the problem,” he said.

He said Government had the responsibility for dealing with crime, and it is the Government’s responsibility to do what is necessary to ensure that this country is safer, with or without the bill. Asked whether the Couva/Point Lisas Chamber was supporting the bill, Khan replied: “We are supporting the fight against crime.” However, Trevor Alleyne of the Credit Union League said his organisation was “very supportive” of all the initiatives taken by the Government to reduce crime.  He said the Opposition could not continue to hold “an obstinate view” in light of the fact that the country’s reputation was being tarnished, and because crime was affecting everyone. “We must seek areas of cooperation,” he said.

MATT president John Victor said MATT would be seeking consultation with all interests groups, including the Opposition, in order to get a “wide perspective” on the police bills. He said the Prime Minister felt that if enough public pressure is put on the Opposition, then there was the possibility that the bills would be passed. A release from Whitehall stated that Manning outlined the “extensive consultative process by which the legislation was formulated, including invitations for public comment. He also spoke extensively about the independence of the Police Management Authority, and the mechanisms which would be implemented to maintain the integrity of the Authority’s independence and to ensure that the Authority is “de-politicised.” According to the release, Manning quoted Basdeo Panday who as Prime Minister first tabled the legislation in the Parliament on July 13, 2001 saying: “It is proposed that this Police Management Authority would be an independent body — may I repeat — an independent body, appointed by the President on the joint advice of the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition.”

He said Government had taken a decision to use techology to fight crime in the country. And he outlined the crime-fighting resources which were being acquired, including offshore patrol vessels, patrol helicopters with interdiction capabilities and a state-of-the-art radar system that would significantly reduce the illicit drug trade, the flow of illegal firearms and kidnapping. The Prime Minister stressed however that the Police Service reform legislation was a critical part of comprehensive crime-fighting measures. “The more we (the Government) look at it, the more we come to the conclusion that while legislation, by itself, will not solve the crime problem, it is part of a comprehensive package that will give the citizens of this country the comfort that they live with acceptable levels of security.”