Police Manpower audit, a complex task

The seven-member committee was appointed by Cabinet on January 10, with a mandate to review the efficiency and effectiveness of the police service and make recommendations where needed.

At a news conference at the Ministry of National Security’s Office of Law Enforcement Policy on London Street in Port-of- Spain, Deosaran said the committee recognises the challenge of its task. In the last four months, apart from data collection and reviewing numerous reports, its members interviewed close to 50 key stakeholders, including Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Roger Gaspard, the Police Social Welfare Association executive and Ag Commissioner of Police Stephen Williams.

Deosaran said 20 more interviews are to be done. He said the committee hopes its reaching out would inspire the community to rise to that civic expectation, not so much as a favour, but in its own self-defence. He urged the public to tell the committee about any concern they have regarding police integrity and/or police response, as this would better help members to understand the relationship between police numbers, resource allocation and performance.

The committee will seek to examine the extent to which the current manpower strength generally serves the citizenry, examine the structure and operations of the service with regard to professional integrity, efficiency and community partnerships and consider the processes used for promotion, discipline and appointment in terms of fairness and accountability.

Vice chairman of the committee Jacqueline Wilson said the committee would be gathering information through an internal and external approach. Deosaran said the committee is expected to submit a final report to the Prime Minister and Cabinet before December 31.