For the first time in the history of T&T, the T&T Police Service has honoured its fallen heroes and heroines with a memorial monument bearing the names, years of service and regimental numbers of all officers who lost their lives in the line of duty, dating from 1962 to present.
The unveiling of the plaque was held at the Police Administration Building in Port-of-Spain, yesterday. It now stands as an exterior aesthetic, visible to the public outside the Sackville Street building.
In delivering remarks, Commissioner of Police Gary Griffith apologised on behalf of the service for having taken so long for such a monument to be constructed. He thanked the families of the officers for allowing the country to share their lives with them while they were yet alive.
He said for the men and women who died while protecting and serving citizens of T&T, they were deserving of greater honours than what the country had given them.
“The daily sacrifice made by the men and women of the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service is a noble call to duty. That is why as commissioner, I will continue to do all within my power to transform the police service, as these fallen officers represent pride, mobility and dignity in the jobs that they held,” Griffith said.
Griffith said the memorial plaque met international standards in acknowledging those who died in service of country and was representative of history created through the years.
“The sacrifices made by those whose names are etched here should never be forgotten. This monument stands as a beacon of bravery, courage and patriotism and a reminder to young and old that these officers served and served nobly,” Griffith articulated.
The plaque was funded through the TTPS’ ISOS (I Support Our Service) campaign initiative.
Griffith also again raised his recent stance for mandatory drug testing and the instalment of polygraph testing of regular and special reserve police officers, a necessary undertaking he feels is a step in the right direction to transformational policing for greater accountability within the service.
“These are simple avenues to assist in ensuring “red flag persons” are not placed in specific posts that can compromise national security,” Griffith said.
Speaking to the opposition the polygraph testing has been met with by some officers in the service, Griffith said it was puzzling that everyone who joined the police service was prepared to be polygraphed then but now that they were actually in the service they seemed to have an issue with it. He said it made one question whether these officers were trying to protect other people, which was the impression it could give.
He reiterated that polygraph testing was not a measure to pinpoint someone based on guilt but rather an avenue used worldwide as a yardstick to be able to streamline police officers, especially those operating in sensitive areas and units which, if they went rogue, could compromise any operation. He said the questions were simple and merely asked officers if they have ever accepted remuneration for illegal drugs, weapons or human trafficking entering the country, or if they support and assist in escorting vehicles involved in illegal trafficking of drugs and weapons.
However, he said, he would not be flexible on this matter and would do what is required within the law to ensure the rouge elements of the service are weeded out.
Referring to drug testing, he said this is mandatory as stipulated in regulation 93.3 and he would be the first to take it. In the case of officers refusing to comply, disciplinary action would be taken, he assured.
Asked if he would be agitating for polygraphing to become mandatory in the service, Griffith said he was in the process of drafting this requirement but that would be something required by Parliament.
He said in the meantime, it remained optional but as the commissioner, he reserved the authority to transfer anyone at any time if they refused to take a test.