There must be a balance between the needs of police officers and the needs of citizens.This was the view of Gregory Aboud, president of the Downtown Owners and Merchants Association (Doma) in light of Monday's planned sickout action by police officers.Officers have branded next Monday as a "day of rest and reflection," insisting that they would not accept the final offer of five per cent made last Wednesday by Chief Personnel Officer Stephanie Lewis.In an interview yesterday, Aboud said given the number of recent incidents of robbery, sexual assault and murders, members of the business community were "entitled to be naturally concerned.""The brazen murder of a security officer for his firearm and the recent torture and murder of a night watchman at a warehouse compound are ample reminders of the grim threat that faces citizens," Aboud said.He said this type of scenario must be mentioned in any discussion regarding Monday's planned action by officers, since it created the context within which "we must balance the needs of police officers and the needs of citizens of T&T."
According to Aboud, his association had extensive interaction with police officers over the years and that strong relationship had given businessmen faith that officers would turn up for duty next Monday."From our standpoint and based upon our experience with the officers that we have met over the years, we hold the view that the men and women of our Police Service will conduct themselves in a respectable manner," Aboud said.He said Doma recognised that officers were agitating for an improvement in their working conditions."But we feel quite confident that our officers will also be keeping an eye on citizens," he said.He said, however, that the decision by officers to stay at home was not as straightforward as it appeared."This is not straightforward as in other industrial relations dispute, but this is the position that officers have placed themselves in by choosing this career and taking the oath that they did," Aboud added.In a brief statement issued yesterday, Police Commissioner Dwayne Gibbs reminded his charges of the oath they had taken upon entering the service."The commissioner reminds officers of the reason why and for whom they have sworn an oath to Protect and Serve with PRIDE," Gibbs said.He said while there were contingency plans in place, he believed officers would continue to give their best.