Too many "negative things" are placed in the spotlight by the media and very rarely is good news reported.Making that statement yesterday was National Security Minister Jack Warner, who delivered the feature address at an inter-institutional induction graduation ceremony, after a training programme for officers of the Transit Police, Immigration Detention Centre and traffic wardens at Capital Plaza, Port-of-Spain.
Twenty-nine people graduated as transit policemen, 23 as traffic wardens and eight as Immigration Detention Centre officers.In addressing the graduates–45 males and 15 females–Warner told them not to be surprised if the ceremony did not make the news.He said: "In today's society we need now to find, more than ever, every iota of goodness and to hold it up so it becomes a beacon of hope.
"One of the greatest problems that we face today in this country is that there are too many negative things out there, too many negative things get too much of the spotlight and therefore don't be surprised if what you are doing is not in the spotlight." Referring to three Special Reserve Police officers who were charged with murder and whose photos were on the front pages of two daily newspapers yesterday, Warner said: "Of course that would be on the front pages."
Waner supports PMs take on media
He said he often read the newspapers starting from the sports pages and would not read further than the comics.He added: "And when I miss the news on television I don't bother. I don't even ask what they say tonight. It doesn't worry me any more because the fact is far too often good never gets the spotlight."Negative behaviour in this country gets too much promotion and positive behaviour gets none."
In the same breath, however, Warner said he was not sending a message to members of the media about how to do their work.In certain communities, he added, gangsters were "given the glory and exalted" for how many robberies they committed.He added: "They are glorified for how many women they use and discard and even for how many children they abandon. They are given respect for disobeying the law, for being a nuisance to society and for disrespecting others.
"The result of this is that badness becomes that which our youths are programmed to emulate. They don't really see the ugly side to the shiny glamorous, romantic exterior. "They do not see the side where they are lying in a pool of blood or in a drain with bullet holes in their bodies."
Put transit officers on PBR
Urging the transit officers to uphold the law, even when there might be incidents involving their friends and families, Warner recommended that some of them should be placed on the Priority Bus Route (PBR) to allow the regular police to concentrate on fighting crime.He said: "You have a responsibility to do your jobs as diligently as possibly. Whether your job is to enforce traffic regulations on the PBR or to manage traffic flow on our nation's roads, citizens depend on you. Law and order depend on you."
Warning the graduates not to expose the State to liability and criticism, Warner said that was especially important as law enforcement officers were under the microscope.He said: "The public's awareness of the powers and authority you hold is heightened. People, especially those who want us to fail, are waving all colours of flags when it comes to what powers are given to persons and how those powers can be used and abused.
"Everything we do is up for scrutiny. "Every one of us is under intense scrutiny. And we must be able to stand up to the scrutiny."
New law enforcement officers graduate