Top TT cop in talks with Scotland Yard

Joseph arrived in London over the weekend and has been holding talks with high-ranking Scotland Yard officials. Newsday learnt that Joseph’s mandate is to speed up the process with the British police so Scotland Yard can arrive in Trinidad at the earliest opportunity.

Prime Minister Patrick Manning, in his budget presentation last Wednesday, said Scotland Yard and the US Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) will be setting up shop in Trinidad to assist SAUTT in dealing with the crime problem.

No sooner had Manning delivered the speech, Joseph was on his way to London to speed up the process. Talks have been ongoing with a top Scotland Yard official who was recently in Trinidad.

However, Government is moving to ensure the mistakes and problems of 1993, when Scotland Yard first visited, do not happen again. On that occasion, Scotland Yard officers worked closely with a handpicked team of policemen, resulting in the arrests of several policemen on charges of corruption. The Yardies met resistance from the Police Association and were frustrated by the non-cooperation of the majority of police officers. Long after the Yardies left, all the policemen charged were subsequently released and, in two cases, compensation was paid by the State for malicious prosecution.

This time, Government is seeking the cooperation of the police associations as Scotland Yard and FBI move in to Trinidad.

Brigadier Joseph was expected to complete his talks yesterday.