Lead Editor - Newsgathering
kejan.haynes@guardian.co.tt
Minister in the Ministry of National Security, Keith Scotland, has promised joint patrols between the TTPS and the Defence Force will continue until Carnival.
Speaking in the Lower House yesterday during the 2025 Budget debate, Scotland said the task force has already been deployed across all ten policing divisions.
“Go outside now and see them. They will be there!” he exclaimed.
The Joint Task Force One was launched on Monday, September 23. It sees police officers and soldiers patrolling the streets across the country.
The Port-of-Spain South MP said investing in new vehicles means little if they are not used.
“All these resources and plans will come to nought if the police officers don’t go out in the field and do their work. We can buy all ... we can have all the plans, buy all the vehicles, have all the new plans, all the new CCTV, and all the technology. If the police officers do not go out in the field day and night, what will come of the plans?”
Scotland then teased the Opposition bench, saying the joint task force would be visible in all constituencies, including the UNC-held seats.
“You will see them in Fyzabad, you will see them in Naparima. You will see them in Couva North,” Scotland said, prompting desk thumping from the Government bench.
“The officers in Couva North are bilingual, so we will be able to understand what is going on in Couva North, and they will act accordingly,” Scotland added.
Finance Minister Colm Imbert announced on Monday the TTPS will expand its fleet by 2,000 vehicles over the next three years, with 500 vehicles expected in the first phase.
In an immediate response to his presentation, MP for Chaguanas West, Dinesh Rambally, said he hoped to see more plans for prevention rather than punishment.
“We need to adopt, Madam Speaker, a holistic approach to national security; one that does not rely solely on increasing the size of the police force or purchasing more weapons or police cars, but one that tackles the socio-economic factors contributing to criminal behaviour,” Rambally said.
Rambally knocks Kamla
When the Chaguanas West MP Dinesh Rambally (one of the so-called UNC dissidents) began his contribution he did so by seemingly taking a jab at his political leader, Kamla Persad-Bissessar.
He said he took an oath to serve all people of the country with honesty and integrity. He said it was an oath he took very seriously and “no man or no woman will ever get me to compromise on my principles and my sense of duty to my community and my country.”
The statement was met with cheers and desk thumping from the Government bench.
He said the people of Chaguanas West put their trust in him and he would not betray that trust with inaction or complacency.
“Our nation deserves sober leadership from all the members of the house. Leadership that puts the people of Trinidad and Tobago before their own partisan political interests,” he said.
Rambally said they should listen to those who are marginalised and take decisive action and bring meaningful solutions to the problems facing the country.
“Madam Speaker the people of the country are fed up with the bickering, the cheap political pandering, and the failure of the political class to listen to their concerns. It is with this commitment to put the country first,” Rambally added.