Who really is police out there?

TWO WEEKS ago, I wrote an article “No murder convictions for 2005.” That article discussed the alarming rate of acquittals for murder and the fact that no one was convicted of murder so far for 2005. There was no one convicted so the State can’t go ahead and hang anyone. Director of Public Prosecutions Geoffrey Henderson responded, saying there was one murder conviction, but because the person was under 18 at the time, he got years in jail. One or two state attorneys defended their boss the following day, while another who frequently represents the State, acquired another brief...this time to defend Henderson. Based on what I am now about to write, I expect Commissioner of Police Trevor Paul to respond tomorrow.

It is a question hot on the lips of many citizens today — who really is police out there? It is now becoming a scary scenario for the people in this country. Years ago, a big thing was made about people wearing camouflage outfits similar to what is worn by the army. When Selwyn Richardson was Minister of National Security in the late 1980s, he thundered and threatened to deal severely with persons caught wearing camouflage outfits. He said such persons would go to jail if caught. Has anything been done since then? Walk through Port-of-Spain on a daily basis. People are wearing camouflage outfits. These clothes are being sold right in the city. One day I passed a man fully dressed in camouflage attire on the Brian Lara Promenade.

I figured out he was not a soldier because of the hat he was wearing. But what about people who do not know about the military? They can be easily fooled. Back to the police! Too often we are hearing about incidents involving persons dressed as police officers. How do you know who are genuine law enforcement officers? The police wear different outfits.

1) The regular grey shirt and navy blue pants. This has been used as the regular attire for the police for donkey years now. Special Reserve Police officers wear the same uniform as well as City and Borough officers. How do you know who are the real police officers? Check the star of David on the hat. But then as someone said on Friday, you can buy that in a store. More worries.

2) At night, the grey shirt is replaced with a navy blue top.

3) The navy blue sweater and the navy blue pants worn by the Guard and Emergency Branch (GEB), commonly referred to as the Tactical Squad. There is the word POLICE written to the front of the sweater. But all of a sudden, that uniform is not worn exclusively by the police. Security companies have copied the attire and their officers, a few of them precepted, now look like the police. Five or six security officers travelling in a van can really fool people into believing they are the real cops.

4) The all-black uniform worn by the Inter-Agency Task Force police officers in all Divisions. At least the word POLICE is written across the front with an emblem on the left breast.

5) The ceremonial wear. The white tunic is worn in the High Court, in Parliament, and for official engagements. No one else wears this. At the Independence Day parade, apart from the police, personnel from the Defence Force and Fire Services wear the tunic.

6) The CID officers who dress casually and who use their position to “rough” up people without showing their ID cards. Remember, failure to show your ID cards or inform people of their constitutional rights, is now illegal. Ask the Privy Council.

There are many reports that men dressed in police uniforms committed unlawful acts across the country. There was a report last month of men dressed as the police ramming the car of a businesswoman. She sensed something and raced to the nearest police station. Why didn’t these “police officers” follow her to the police station? Was this another attempt to kidnap someone? Some of the persons kidnapped this year were snatched by persons dressed like police officers. Take for instance, the kidnapping of the Nath brothers recently. They were stopped in a road block on the Valencia stretch. Imagine, that lonely spot with very little lighting at night, had a road block. Gangs are now moving around dressed as police officers. Why haven’t legislation been enacted or improved to deal with such persons? I hope that Attorney General John Jeremie and Minister of National Security Martin Joseph read between the lines and deal with the problem.

Even when lawful road blocks are put in place, one wonders if these persons are really police officers. Most are dressed casually, some are mean looking like some criminals. What about someone not too sure if it is really a road block or not? Suppose he takes a chance, fearing an attempt at kidnapping, and darts through the road block. He can be shot dead or seriously wounded by gunfire. Maybe, the Commissioner of Police, in an attempt to restore some confidence in the public, can order that ALL police officers in a road block wear the normal police uniform — grey shirt during the day and navy shirt at the night. Mr Commissioner, we have a nation of frightened people. Dealing with criminals in police uniforms is a start.