Senior Reporter
kevon.felmine@guardian.co.tt
With the T&T Municipal Police (TTMP) unit expected to play a key role in crime-fighting and emergency response, the Government is set to track officers on duty to ensure greater accountability and improve response times.
Minister of Rural Development and Local Government Faris Al-Rawi announced this to 164 trainees during the opening ceremony of the TTMP Constable Induction Training Programme in Marabella on Saturday.
TTMP ACP Sagramsingh said this initiative should not affect any officer doing their job properly.
Speaking to the media, Al-Rawi explained that the tracking initiative falls under the Return of Personnel policy. He said lost files have been a common issue in the public service, especially when public servants transfer between ministries. The Return of Personnel system, implemented through a digital platform, is designed to address this issue.
Focusing specifically on the TTMP, Al-Rawi explained that Government has developed and tested a programme to track officers while on duty, allowing command centres to deploy manpower more effectively. He said these discussions emerged during natural disaster responses, where managing resources was challenging, with one person often listening to multiple radios to deploy resources. The new policy aims to use technology to dispatch resources more quickly and efficiently.
“We’re designing a system to track officers while they are on duty, not off duty. The Constitution grants a right to privacy, but when you are on duty, we need to know where our personnel are so we can deploy them effectively. The system is already designed in-house, and now we just need to go through the tendering process,” Al-Rawi said.
He said the tracking system can be implemented using mobile phones, fobs, or other devices, and does not require an Internet connection as it operates using GPRS. He emphasised that the Government would not need to purchase phones for all public servants.
“We have thought of every way this system might not work, and we have addressed it,” he added.
While the ministry has explored different methods to support this system, Al-Rawi emphasised that its implementation is not final yet and various stakeholders will be consulted before moving forward.
“This is not something we are imposing on anyone without discussion. It is a conversation where we all agree we can do better and choose the right tools to achieve that. The public expects a prompt response when they make a call, and this system will help ensure that. We will know where our officers are and whether we can deploy them when needed,” he said, suggesting the system rollout could happen after the 2025 national budget.
ACP Sagramsingh clarified that this is not about spying on anyone, but rather ensuring officers can be located when incidents occur. With officers often responding to natural disasters, he noted that social media frequently spreads false information about floods. The tracking system would allow TTMP to verify whether officers are near an area of reported distress and deploy the appropriate response team.
Sagramsingh acknowledged that initially, there were concerns because people did not have all the details. However, he assured officers doing their jobs have nothing to worry about.
“As long as an officer is not up to any mischief, they do not have to be concerned. Only those whose actions are inconsistent with the law or good conduct might have an issue. It may not be illegal, but it is not aligned with expected behaviour,” Sagramsingh said during a phone interview yesterday.
Recruitment power
During Saturday’s ceremony, Sagramsingh advocated for giving the TTMP authority to recruit its own officers. Currently, it relies on the Public Service Commission and the Statutory Authorities Service Commission for recruitment and training, which can be a time-consuming process.
The latest batch of trainees was selected from approximately 5,000 applicants dating back to August 2020. Sagramsingh noted that when the intake process began, they estimated it would take 18 months. Even after training this group, he said there will still be about 400 vacancies.
He pointed out that while the T&T Police Service (TTPS) recruits faster, the TTMP can streamline its process. He believes that with greater autonomy, the TTMP could efficiently fill all vacancies.
“I have written to the commissions asking permission to handle the recruitment process ourselves. Over the past four years, we have trained three batches of recruits. It has taken us this long, but with more autonomy, we could continue filling vacancies as they arise from attrition, retirement, and death. We want to maintain full strength at all times,” Sagramsingh explained.
In response, Al-Rawi acknowledged that the COVID-19 pandemic had delayed the progress the TTMP could have achieved within 18 months. While the service is not far behind, he noted that attrition has taken a toll over the years.
Al-Rawi also highlighted the need for constitutional reform, an issue Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley has stressed. He explained that service commissions, as independent entities, handle recruitment, discipline, and dismissals, and many people mistakenly believe the Government controls these processes.
“This is not to criticise the people working in those offices, but it is why the Prime Minister is focused on reforming the service commissions,” Al-Rawi added.
The new inductees will undergo 20 weeks of training. Once they pass out, they will be assigned to 10 municipal corporations. This intake will bring the number of municipal police officers to over 1,000, moving closer to the Cabinet’s target of 1,500 officers.