This proposal is one of the many in a package which was delivered to Chief Personnel Officer (CPO) Beresford Riley on Friday last for the period 2014 to 2016.

On January 10, the CPO invited the association, led by Inspector Michael Seales, to submit proposals.

Seales delivered those proposals in which the association proposed a 13.5 percent increase in salaries.

Yesterday Seales defended the position saying, “13.5 percent is substantially lower than what we would have settled for before and, more importantly, it is much lower than what is available for the market for compensation for police officers.

On the last occasion the market survey would have generated 16 percent market shift which would have been available for officers had we been able to negotiate the full 16 percent.” About the proposal to pay a $2000 allowance to single police officers with children, Seales said information reaching the association suggests that it is extremely difficult for those officers to survive on existing salaries.

“More than 15 percent of the workforce consists of single parents.” One of the other proposals, according to Seales, is a new allowance which is the Community Police Unit allowance to foster a strategy to help communities rebuild themselves and be able to have that relationship with the police to make the communities a stronger one.

Seales believes by encouraging the Community Police Unit to partner with the public, they will have a better incentive to carry out this mandate if they are given this $1500 allowance.

He also revealed that the association is asking for a merit allowance for divisional commanders whose strategies result in crime being decreased by 50 percent.

He said one of the major proposals also include an off duty callout allowance where officers who are on vacation leave and called out to work for two weeks or more could be paid $3,000 monthly for the duration of the call-out.

Additionally, the association is also asking the CPO to consider the re-absorption of all special reserve police officers into the service.

Central Sports defeated Queen’s Park by two wickets on Saturday at the Brian Lara Academy in Tarouba and will now meet Powergen on Thursday for a place in Friday’s final.

Babwah, speaking to Newsday yesterday, said a deep batting line-up led Central Sports to victory over the Parkites.

“We bowled pretty decent in spurts but a couple bowlers went for some runs.

“The pitch was not batsman friendly but we had a good effort from our batsmen throughout the middle and lower-middle order. Everyone chipped in and gave us some input and that is what took us through because we have a good all-round team down to the end; all 11 men could bat and that is what took us over the line,” he said.

Babwah knows Powergen will be a challenge for Central Sports. “Like against Queen’s Park, we are not going in overconfident, we know Powergen is a very strong team, they have a pretty strong batting line-up and some decent bowlers in there,” he said. The Central Sports captain said Powergen’s international experience is an asset for the Penal club, with the likes of West Indies trio Andre Fletcher, Evin Lewis and Jason Mohammed in their camp.

Babwah, who turns 40 in July, along with Guyanese Royston Crandon are the senior players in the team guiding the youngsters in the team.

“Youth and experience is always a good mix in any format of cricket or any type of sport.

We have some good youngsters like Kamil (Pooran), Steven Taylor, who came in to play this particular tournament with us.

Together with Jahron Alfred, Kristopher Ramsaran, some good young cricketers coming up. My job is not too difficult, it is just to guide these guys. They have the potential, they have the talent, it is just to fix what is above the shoulder. The talent is always there but with a lot of cricketers throughout, it is more mental.” Babwah, playing for the first time at the Brian Lara Academy, is impressed by the facility, but says the pitch needs to improve especially for T20 cricket.

“I think it is a very nice stadium, beautiful ground, nice facilities, but they could do some work with the pitch __ that is the only downfall I could see right now.

For T20 cricket especially, you need good batting tracks for excitement. Probably it will get better since this is the first tournament there. It is hard to judge now but other than that (it is) very good.”

She says they are not adequately provided for in public places and at private functions. She is also calling for greater emphasis to be placed on the needs of people with Autism Spectrum Disorder and for the formulation of national policies on education and in other areas of national development.

This, she said, will ensure that all citizens are able to contribute to this country’s sustainable development regardless of their abilities.

Carmona was speaking at the opening of a regional workshop on the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities at the Hyatt Regency, Wrightson Road, Port of Spain.

The workshop was organised by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the local office of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Carmona suggested that the participants encourage leaders of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) to declare a caribbean decade for disabled people to run from 2018 to 2028 which, she said, would inspire action to bring the differently abled fully into Caribbean society.

She urged presenters and participants to deal with the issue of reporting, remarking that for too long there had been a lag in the submission of national reports to the various human rights committees and that the reports are used as one of the ways of measuring the national implementation of the obligations under the various human rights treaties. She said what she called “reporting fatigue” might be due to the absence of comprehensive data which is often an important part of the reporting mechanism.

“There must be proper data and properly directed data collecting in the Caribbean. Data informs policy, effective planning, transformational initiatives, holistic philosophies and the necessary human activism.” Minister of Social Development and Family Services Cherrie-Ann Critchlow-Cockburn said since June 2015, when this country ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the ministry made efforts to meet the obligations under the convention.

She said a critical part of this obligation was the revision of the draft National Policy on Persons with Disabilities which, she said, was intended as a framework for the government’s mandate in supporting the initiative. Critchlow- Cockburn said the ministry plans, very soon, to hold a series of consultations to finalise the revised draft policy.

She said while a lot is being done, much more needs to be done both here and in the other countries which were represented at the meeting. Critchlow- Cockburn said her ministry is committed to working closely with the UNDP to protect the rights of those with disabilities.

Richard Blewitt, the UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative for TT, told Newsday many people with disabilities have “tremendous assets and capacities” to offer society. He expects that all government officials at the conference would be inspired to take up their responsibilities to follow up and report, on a timely basis, the progress they have made in their countries in ratifying the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

He said while many Caribbean countries had ratified the convention, reporting on their work was an important part of the process because it was about accountability and transparency.

On Monday, sea bathers in Point Fortin reported oil on their skin and a pelican covered with oil came ashore. One person said the bird appeared to be in distress and could not even flap its wings because of the oil. On Sunday night, however, the ministry said it been “monitoring the response of Petrotrin to the oil spill from Tank 70 in the Point-a-Pierre Refinery .

“The National Oil Spill Contingency Plan (NOSCP) was activated to a Tier 2 level (which allowed for maximum use of in country resources) on April 24, and the ministry is employing the incident management system to manage this spill in coordination with Petrotrin and other Government agencies…” In addition to containment, recovery and clean-up activities, the ministry said, “The management of the spill included tracking its trajectory via computer- based models complemented by daily aerial and marine surveys.” These surveys, according to the ministry, indicated movement of the spill in a westerly direction towards the TT/Venezuela maritime boundary.” The ministry also initiated the activation of the TT/ Venezuela Bilateral Oil Spill Plan via diplomatic channels through the Ministry of Foreign and Caricom Affairs and at the operational level with officials of Petr?leos de Venezuela, PDVSA .

The ministry said “daily monitoring and reporting on oil spill response here and in Venezuela will continue in accordance with established protocols and the public will be advised on any further developments .

The report said the offences for which the warrants were granted include drug trafficking (42); gang activity (32); larceny (11); murder (three); corruption (three); money laundering (two); fraud (one) and tending to pervert the course of justice (ten).

One person was arrested during this period and three criminal proceedings have started.

There are no convictions as proceedings are pending before the courts.

There have been 101 criminal investigations based on information obtained as the result of the interception of a private communication under a warrant. Under the Interceptions of Communications Act, the commissioner, SSA director and the Defence Force chief of staff are authorised to apply to the court for warrants for interception of communication.

No such warrants were sought by the SSA director and the Defence Force chief of staff in 2015.

In the report, National Security Minister Edmund Dillon underscored the importance of interception of communication to curb crime. In addition to the 2016 report, Dillon also promised to lay the 2012, 2013 and 2014 which were never laid in Parliament by the last government.

The report said interception of communications, “facilitates the early detection of criminal conspiracies” and will continue to be used by authorised officers, “as part of their arsenal in curbing crime and minimising criminal activity and crime as a whole.” The report also said Government will continue to support, “a fair balance between the privacy of individuals and the legitimate activities of law enforcement” under the Act.

The exercise was led by Snr Supts Radcliffe Boxhill and Florice Hodge-Griffith and included ASPs Ajith Persad and Bailey, Inspector Bruno, Sgt Raymond Austin, Sgt Williams, Cpl Budhrie, PC Jason Fournillier and others.

As the lockdown began under the cover of darkness, houses were raided by lawmen some of whom led several sniffer dogs. A total of 53 persons were arrested including a 30-year-old woman who was held for possession of marijuana.

Two others were also held for illegal drugs while 13 were held on outstanding warrants and the others for robberies, shootings, larceny of vehicles and other crimes.

Officers seized stolen television sets, toys, skate boards, a quantity of alcohol, photo copying machines, three kilos of marijuana and cocaine.

Some of the stolen items were found in abandoned lots and empty houses. Businessmen who had items stolen are asked to visit Portof- Spain CID to assist officers in identifying the recovered items.

Police are hoping with the arrests, they may have cracked a major stealing ring operating in the nation’s capital and using the Beetham Gardens not only as their base of operation but also as a place to store and sell stolen items. While some residents welcomed the raid, others loudly complained about police barging into their homes.

This information is contained in the Commission’s 2016 report which was laid in the House of Representatives last Friday. Out of the 41 complaints which the Commission dealt with last year, the top three complaints all concern this matter. In each case, people have been interviewed, statements have been recorded and documents have been obtained. The status of “investigations continuing” is attached to the three complaints about the Guanapo Church which were first raised in 2010. Manning died on July 2, 2016.

The complaints contained in the report include matters raised during the respective tenures of Manning’s former administration, that of Kamla Persad-Bissessar and the incumbent Dr Keith Rowley administration.

Commission chairman Zainool Hosein said out of the 41 complaints dealt with by the Commission in 2016, 15 were completed and one was referred to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). This was a complaint against the Government about bid rigging and corruption relative to the services offered by a contractor Hosein added there are currently 13 matters which the Commission has referred to the DPP. He also said investigations are continuing into 25 complaints this year and one complaint was referred to the Commission’s compliance section. That complaint involved a request for an investigation into the actions of a temporary senator.

Justice Malcolm Holdip had to adjourn seven cases, despite the fact that in all these cases, both the State and defence attorneys were ready to proceed.

Ayers-Caesar lasted all of 15 days as a judge before tendering her resignation to President Anthony Carmona so that she could revert to her previous post as Chief Magistrate and adjudicate on several outstanding matters in the lower courts.

Senior attorneys at the bar had expressed the view that Ayers-Caesar should not have been elevated until her partheard cases in the lower courts were heard and dealt with.

Upon taking up her appointment, Ayers-Caesar was assigned to the Third Criminal Assize court where she replaced Justice Althea Alexis-Windsor who is now sitting in the Second Assize court.

Holdip is presiding in the First Assize.

Ayers-Caesar had adjourned several cases last week when she was welcomed to the bench by attorneys in San Fernando.

Yesterday, she was expected to fix for trial any of the seven cases on the Third Assize court list. The cases are: causing death by dangerous driving; indecent assault; attempted murder; possession of drugs for trafficking; common assault; causing death by dangerous driving and possession of drugs.

Justice Holdip adjourned his court and called the Third Assize court to order where he then proceeded to adjourn all seven cases.

P r o s e c u t o r s Shabanna Shah and Krishna Jaglal were present and when each of the seven cases were called, Shah announced the prosecution’s readiness to proceed.

Defence attorneys Chateram Sinanan, Cedric Neptune, Kevin Ratiram and Jason Jackson, all indicated their readiness to proceed in their respective matters.

Criminal cases have already been assigned to the court for the month of May and that means a judge — either Alexis- Windsor or Holdip — would have to leave their courts and adjourn the list until a new judge is assigned to Court Three.

Eyewitnesses told Newsday that Ifill’s blood drained out of his body through a narrow gap between the wall and a concrete decking. As he breathed his last, while several persons could only watch helplessly, Ifill muttered, “boy, I get pinned here yes.” When firemen removed the wall, Ifill — a father of five — was dead.

He was employed with the Couva/Tabaquite/Talparo Regional Corporation and took a private job to demolish the house for a friend. His co-worker luckily escaped injuries. The incident occurred at 10.45 am.

The owner of the building, who asked not to be identified, said the freak accident had left her deeply traumatised as Ifill was not only a worker but a family friend. The man’s grieving children, the owner said, visited the scene after hearing the news. “We go way back and that is why he agreed to do the work for us,” she cried.

“He did part yesterday (Sunday) and came back today to finish it off. He told me when the wall comes down, he will bring a pardner with a backhoe to clear out the rest of the rubble,” the woman said.

She said they were clearing the old structure to begin construction of their new house. She recalled that moments before the tragedy, they were laughing and talking on the roadside.

“I just now gave him water to drink,” she recalled. He went back to the structure and someone told Ifill to move from where he was but he replied that the place was safe enough for him to continue with the demolition. “And then later, we heard this massive crashing sound,” the woman said, adding that people ran to the collapsed wall but they could not even shift the wall much less lift it off of Ifill.

Expressing the MSJ’s opposition to the Primary Schools Principals’ Association’s proposal to reduce the lunch break for primary school children, Abdulah said, it is a “a knee jerk reaction” that some schools may have with the supervision of children during the lunch break.

Incidents of bullying and other activities that have resulted in children being physically hurt may have occurred during the lunch break, he said.

Noting that many problems require fixing, he said, it seems as if those in authority are intent on looking at either taking short cuts or refusing to take responsibility for what takes place on their watch.

“Shortening the lunch hour is just another way of saying, he said, “we don’t want to take responsibility for what happens in the schools.” The MSJ’s position, he said, is that children need the one hour lunch break to have their lunch and some recreation time with their friends.

The MSJ, he said, is proposing the Ministry of Education introduce the use of volunteers such as parents, former teachers or persons within the community to supervise children during the lunch break.

The party suggests that the ministry includes as part of the schools’ curriculum issues such as conflict resolution, and increases the number of social workers and guidance counselors in all schools to work with parents, students and teachers. “In this regard,” Abdulah said, “we deplore the situation where social workers attached to schools have not had their contractual arrangements met by the employer.

This is an indication that the ministry is not getting its priorities right.”