Tobago Correspondent
The Goodwood micro-policing unit is expected to reopen within days, a month after it was forced to close.
The facility was deemed uninhabitable and officers were ordered to vacate it just one day after its official opening on October 13.
Guardian Media’s investigations found that soil erosion was undermining the unit’s foundation. Cracks were visible, and about six inches of soil was missing from the rear of the facility, leaving the foundation steel exposed.
Senior Supt Rodhil Kirk confirmed that remedial work was carried out over the Carnival weekend to address the infrastructure problems. However, UDeCOTT has not disclosed the cost of the facility, who paid for the remedial work, whether geotechnical testing was done or which contractors were involved. Efforts to contact Homeland Security Minister Roger Alexander were unsuccessful.
When Guardian Media visited the facility around midday yesterday, the signs of erosion at the back of the hillside site were no longer visible. The loose soil appeared more compact, and the foundation steel was no longer exposed.
Kirk and a police entourage arrived shortly afterwards to inspect the facility.
He then gave his officers the go-ahead to return.
“It was a little infrastructural challenge that has been rectified. Before the end of the week, the officers will return to the unit to function from there,” he said.
Kirk said police increased mobile patrols in the village while the unit was closed. The patrols will continue as part of the TTPS’s mandate to ensure safety on the island, he said.
Assistant Secretary in the Office of the Chief Secretary Nigel Taitt was also present and said he was elated. The former port police officer said residents could feel more secure about their personal safety, their families and their property.
“I feel happy about this, because I have a passion for law enforcement. I spent 30 years in a quasi-military organisation, so hearing about having more police presence in Tobago is important. My priority for safety is not just about where the police posts are placed, but the entire of Tobago.”
He urged residents to co-operate with the police and share information about illegal activity.
Elderly resident Agnes Alleyne said she was excited to see the facility reopen.
“I am very glad about that work. I was asking them the question daily, ‘When will you reopen this place?’” she said.
Alleyne joked that she could sleep with her doors open again.
Resident David Smith said he believed the police post would discourage illegal activity in the village and encourage young men to seek lawful ways to make money.
“Security is a high priority of Goodwood, so we hope that with this intervention we will get less crime happening, and young men would be saved in the community. They will look for alternative ways of sustaining themselves instead of going the route of drugs,” he said.
Smith said villagers welcomed the unit because they would be able to lodge complaints there instead of travelling to Roxborough Police Station. However, he stressed that community policing was essential to ensure the officers’ presence made a difference.
