An injunction seeking to halt the operations of the 21st-century policing project has been drafted by the Police Social and Welfare Association. Secretary of the Police Service Social and Welfare Association Sgt Michael Seales said yesterday the injunction would be served should Police Commissioner Dwayne Gibbs fail to respond to a pre-action protocol letter which was served to him on March 20, at the Police Administration Building, in Port-of-Spain.
Seales said the injunction was drafted by the association's president Sgt Anand Ramesar and himself, both lawyers. To date, there has been no response from Gibbs regarding the matter other than acknowledging receiving the letter, he said. If after the 15th day, Gibbs does not reply to the claims in the pre-action protocol letter, the injunction would then be filed in the High Court in Port-of-Spain.
Saying the association respected the office of the top cop, Seales said: "The executive of the Police Service has its work to do and the association also has to its work. "The executive must also respect what is enshrined in the Constitution and what was established as best practices."
The pre-action protocol letter accused Gibbs of introducing working arrangements under the umbrella of the 21st-century policing initiative that were inconsistent with the 2007 Police Service Regulations and Memoranda of Understanding agreed in 1984 and 2001.
It claimed that because of Gibbs' "unfortunate actions," the psychological, physical and private lives of police officers were being adversely affected.