peter.christopher@guardian.co.tt
Police Commissioner Gary Griffith spent a considerable amount of time on his wedding anniversary responding to critics and defending his decision to host a Christmas event at his official residence on Saturday.
Griffith took to social media to fire back at the people who questioned the timing of the celebration, particularly given the murder toll for the year. He was scathing in some of his responses and addressed the issue in a similar fashion during an interview with Guardian Media at the Police Administration Building yesterday.
“If I have to expose ignorance, stupidity, bias, people who have their own issues against Gary Griffith. It is my right to defend myself, to defend my name, to clarify any matter of misconception with false or misleading information to try to discredit me,” he said.
“In fact today is my anniversary. In the eyes of some people, I shouldn’t take my wife out because I should be working. So the homicide rate is high, I shouldn’t have an official event that the commissioners have had for the last 20 years, so because it is Gary Griffith it becomes a concern,” he said.
The Commissi0ner explained that he tried to use the event to get several major stakeholders together and bring into focus plans for the country in the coming year. Instead, he saw the narrative changed negatively.
“It turns to a party instead of an official event. It turns from the fact that instead of people seeing the value of trying to bring major stakeholders together that have affected or could benefit the development of our country, it becomes a concern. We like too much bacchanal and gossip. That does nothing to develop our society,” he said.
Although he conceded that the public is concerned about the high homicide rate, Griffith defended the work of his officers who he said should be given credit for doing the best they can.
“More firearms are entering the country but we expect the homicide rate to be reduced. More persons are getting access to easy bail, but we expect the homicide rate to be reduced/ When we arrest these persons and they get in prison they still have access to call hits on persons but we expect the homicide rate to reduce. The police service did all we could have done,” he said, repeating his call to deny bail to persons held with illegal firearms.
“Nothing has changed, what I can say. In 2013-2014 when I was Minister of National Security, you were caught with an illegal firearm you’re out. There’s no get out of jail free card. It worked,” he said.
“My last 45 days in National Security, there were 18 homicides, the reason being the criminal element knew that there was no get out of jail,” he said.
“When I see the Law Association stating they are concerned about my concern that persons held with firearms have a right to be given bail, where was the Law Association, where was their view on this in 2013, 2014 when the sunset clause was allowed and approved that persons held with a firearm will stay were they belong away from freedom,” Griffith asked.