Challenge for Top Cop

WE FEEL sure all law abiding citizens will want to wish the new Commissioner of Police Trevor Paul every success as he undertakes what must be the most difficult and pressure-laden job in the country. Paul takes on the duty of Top Cop at a critical juncture in TT’s history, when the scourge of crime has assumed frightening proportions and when the legislative effort to deal with it by reforming the administration of the Police Service and strengthening the authority of his office has suffered a major setback. It seems impossible, in fact, to underestimate the challenge that lies before the new Commissioner who must address not only the urgent tactical need to arrest the rising crime rate in the field but also the difficult in-house task of cleaning up the service and enhancing its effectiveness in the battle against the criminals. And Paul must seek to achieve these objectives while operating within all the outmoded constraints and regulations which have hampered his predecessors by significantly limiting their executive power and control.

As another Commissioner who has worked through the ranks — he joined the Service as a constable in 1966 — Paul, however, must be fully aware of the nature, enormity and importance of his responsibilities and what a crime-weary population is expecting of him and his officers. It was encouraging, in fact, to hear him say to the media on Thursday, after receiving his instrument of appointment, that our “troubled nation” is crying out for “an environment in which one can experience an acceptable level of safety.” Paul also appeared to accept the view that  “the failure of the organisation to adequately protect and serve our citizens is as a result of major deficiencies at the management level.” Clearly, the new Commissioner of Police knows what is needed and we can only assure him of the country’s support as he proceeds to make the necessary changes and to deal with the many deficiencies which still affect the efficiency of the service.

Inspite of the limitations of his office — which moved one of his predecessors to declare himself a “toothless bulldog” — we expect that Paul will find ways of achieving the established objectives including a purge of corrupt officers, a decisive upgrading of management, an improved system of discipline and accountability, a deeper commitment among his officers to protect and serve and a more relevant programme of training. In this respect it seems fortunate that Paul will be working with a new chairman of the Police Service Commission, Christopher Thomas, whose remarks on Thursday seem to promise a new era of cooperation between the PSC and the Commissioner. Hopefully they may be able to work out a quicker and more effective way of disciplining delinquent officers, thus dealing with one of the major weaknesses of the service.

In the tactical war against crime, Paul will be faced with the task of finding more immediate solutions to the problem. He may want to review the plethora of initiatives that have so far proved largely unavailing to see how they may be improved. Or he may come up with plans of his own. How will he deal with the menace of kidnapping, the rising threat of gang violence, the proliferation of illegal guns in the hands of young criminals and the spreading of crime from high risk areas such as Laventille, East Dry River and Morvant to Diego Martin and other middle class areas. And what about the ineffective Witness Protection Programme, inadequate equipment and mobility and delapidated police stations? No one will envy the new Top Cop, but the job has fallen to him and the country, he must know, will demand that he do it.