With an increase in criminal hostility across the country, provost of the Trinidad and Tobago Police Academy Dr Simon Alexis says additional training for crime scene officers from their French counterparts could not come at a better time.
At a ceremony on Thursday evening, 20 crime scene officers were given certificates after they participated in the two-week training programme.
Speaking during the ceremony, Simon said the officers learned a lot during the programme.
“The Police Academy is extremely pleased to be associated with this training, crime scene investigation is an important part of any crime scene and the management of crime scene especially in Trinidad and Tobago, especially when we are dealing with an increase in some of the criminal hostility,” Simon said.
He said the TTPS was now in a better position to handle some aspects of crime scenes after the training. Deputy Commissioner of Police Wendell Williams said when the invitation for the programme was sent to the TTPS, its administration reached out to both the Criminal Records Unit (CRU) and the Special Evidence Unit (SEU.) “It was indeed a pleasure to learn that the head of CRU, as well as SEU, were on the verge of examining and recognising there was a need for refreshing the training of the persons involved in crime scene management, so this was timely and more than that, there was quite a bit of interest in having the experience,” Williams said.
French Ambassador to T&T Didier Chabert said one of the expectations going into the programme was for both parties to be able to share their respective experiences.
“In the course of the training both sides were able to see the difficulties police encounter in the performance of their duties and discuss ways to deal with it,” Chabert said.