Senior Reporter
anna-lisa.paul@guardian.co.tt
Police Commissioner Erla Harewood-Christopher met with the executive of the T&T Police Service Social and Welfare Association (TTPSSWA) in a marathon session yesterday to discuss the plan to reduce crime and what is required from police officers.
The meeting, which reportedly lasted more than four hours, took place at the Police Administration Building in Port-of-Spain.
TTPSSWA president, ASP Gideon Dickson, said it was “a cordial meeting.”
The CoP dismissed claims that the meeting was called to address last weekend’s record number of murders.
In a brief interview at the end of the meeting, as she sat surrounded by members of the TTPS and TTPSSWA executive teams, Harewood-Christopher said she was aware that a lot was being asked of the officers.
She said it was important to foster and maintain good relations with the TTPSSWA, especially amid the heightened efforts to reduce crime and they have been meeting regularly “to discuss the issues surrounding officers.”
Harewood-Christopher said they had “implored the assistance of the Association to encourage the officers to give even more than they have been giving.”
Commenting on plans to assign additional officers to Tobago to deal with the burgeoning crime situation on the island, Harewood-Christopher said the TTPS had already redeployed resources to strengthen the capabilities of the Guard & Emergency Branch (GEB) and the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF).
“With regards to additional resources, we are still in the process of assessing how many officers we will be deploying to Tobago,” she said.
Pressed on what would be introduced immediately to stem the wave of violent crime, Harewood-Christopher said, “I will not be able to share at this time.”
Dickson said the TTPSSWA welcomed “the opportunity to have this level of discussion with the Commissioner of Police on all the issues impacting our officers presently, both on the job, outside of the job and in the execution of their duty.”
He said the meeting was “meaningful and productive” and he assured officers across the TTPS that their welfare and well-being are a top priority.
“From our discussions today, we could safely say that the administration is seeking to improve their welfare issues in collaboration with the Association, and they should see the strategies and the results of this in the not-too-distant future,” he said.