The newly minted Minister in the Ministry of Keith Scotland, SC, who took his oath of office at the President’s House yesterday, says his number one priority is restoring public confidence in the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS).
Scotland was accompanied by Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley, National Security Minister Fitzgerald Hinds, Housing Minister Camille Robinson-Regis, his daughter Krystianna Scotland and friend Irma David at the swearing-in ceremony.
A high-priority area Scotland intends to target is crime reduction and improving confidence in the police service, which was at eight per cent in February.
Following the ceremony, the recently appointed senior council fielded questions from the media as he declared that he was confident in his ability to make a difference.
“I feel up to it ... I really think that my background in sociology, criminal law, teaching restorative justice, dealing with PoS South ... I think that that experience over the last four years, and before, would have prepared me for this new task that I’ve been assigned.”
His first order of business is to meet with internal stakeholders this morning. Later in the day, he plans to visit one part of his constituency, and next week, he will meet with the top cop and the Police Service Social and Welfare Association. “There is a plan in place, and that will be discussed with them and rolled out very shortly,” he assured. On Thursday, Dr Rowley announced that Scotland would be appointed as a Minister in the Ministry of National Security.
Scotland, whose constituency borders areas of high conflict, hopes that this new position will enable him to be more effective in that role.
“It differs in the sense that when I meet with certain persons in the community, I’m able to speak to them from a different perspective, and as I said before, the main aim has to be the reduction of crime.”
He, however, noted that he has no numerical targets yet.
Hinds: I’m not distracted, says he’s very happy about the move
Commenting on Hinds’ performance during the announcement, Dr Rowley said, “The minister was being distracted by too many other things when we wanted more focusing on the police at this particular point in time.” While Hinds welcomed his colleague, he disagreed with the Prime Minister when asked if he felt too distracted to manage the TTPS. He said, “No, all I feel about this is very, very welcomed and happy because there’s so much work to be done. I hope Trinidad and Tobago by now begin to understand that talk, criticism and bacchanaling don’t solve our problems. What it calls for is work, and Mr Scotland’s presence in here simply means that we will be able to do more work in this regard, and that’s what we are about.”
Consequently, Hinds does not consider himself demoted, as he remains in charge of the Ministry of National Security. Robinson-Regis also defended her cabinet colleague, rubbishing the assertion that Dr Rowley lost confidence in him.
She said, “Interestingly, it took quite some time before the Prime Minister felt that there was a need to put a second minister in the ministry of national security, and that speaks volumes. Clearly, the Prime Minister has very high expectations of Minister Hinds, and he has definitely not lost confidence in him. Because it’s the Prime Minister who could remove and place ministers, and if he had lost confidence, he would have removed Minister Hinds. He has not done that.”
Hinds further explained that there was little difference between himself and Scotland, as they both have the same purpose, “to represent the people.” Although the Prime Minister was present, he did not stick around after the ceremony to respond to any questions.
Who’s in charge of what?
Scotland’s responsibilities:
Scotland is now responsible for the TTPS; offender management; illegal immigrants; drug trafficking; and money laundering.
Hinds’ responsibilities:
Dr Rowley read a laundry list of responsibilities under Hinds’ purview to justify his decision, which includes protecting T&T’s airspace and territorial waters; the cadet force; citizenship; the defence force (regiment, coast guard, air guard); defence force reserves; drug enforcement interdiction; forensic services; DNA services; global security issues; immigration; intelligence; internal security; disaster management, and much more.
The country’s national security will now be managed by the Dr Rowley-led National Security Council, Hinds and Scotland.