If anyone had bothered to ask for my opinion back in July last year, I would have told them that Dwayne Gibbs, a Canadian national, was not the right man for the post of Commissioner of Police of Trinidad & Tobago. I would have told them that I held nothing against the man per se, whom I knew nothing about then, and only slightly more now. But, I would have argued, that for any nation seriously valuing its sovereignty, certain jobs-such as the Commissioner of Police-must have "sacred cow'' status and remain solely the preserve of citizens of that country. Moreover, I would have told them that so endemic were the problems within the TTPS, that simply putting a shiny new roof on a structure that was so run-down and dilapidated, would make little difference. I would have told them, too, that the exorbitant sums that the Government proposed to spend on Gibbs and Ewatski, was akin to a man buying a Picasso and a Rembrandt and then hanging them in the latrine behind his house.
Jury out on Gibbs, Ewatski
One year on, and the jury on Gibbs and Ewatski is still out. It needs to be said, though, that under their stewardship, the country has seen a dip in that all important barometer-the murder statistics. Whether there are some within the criminal element who keep an eye on such statistics is open to discussion, but what is clear, is that July is on course to become one of the most bloody months of the year yet. For many young men in Port-of-Spain and its environs, the previously innocuous task of heading to the Promenade to buy two doubles, is now fraught with danger. It is against this backdrop then, that we watch and listen to the unfolding drama taking place between those in the rank and file of the organisation, and those managing the TTPS, with keen eyes and ears. But, when we have several officers from the Western Division in almost open revolt against their boss, Senior Supt Glenda Smith, followed hard on the heels by the President of the Police Social and Welfare Association Sgt Anand Ramesar calling the Commissioner a "toothless bulldog," we can rest assured that Gibbs, Ewatski, and others in the policing hierarchy, are indeed ruffling a few feathers-and not before time too.
TTPS has 1960s mindset
Some police officers would do well to remember the motto of the organisation in which they are employed, because over recent years, Trinbagonians have gotten very little protection, and next to no service from the men in grey. For too long, the TTPS, despite its modern fleet of vehicles, and assorted array of sophisticated weaponry, has maintained the 1960s mindset of the trifling, post-colonial force that it inherited from the British. It is this unwillingness to structurally adapt to the ever-changing national, regional and international criminal landscapes, that has contributed in part to the dire circumstances that we see all around us. The latent hostility of some within the organisation to the TTPS' recently launched 21st Century Policing Initiative, rolled out in the Western Division in April, and coming soon to a division near you, seems to be proof positive of this Neanderthal attitude. In its own words, the 21st Century Policing Initiative will introduce a "modern, contemporary and innovative approach to policing in Trinidad & Tobago." One would naturally assume then, that asking members of an organisation to simply adopt measures and practices commensurate with the times in which we live, would be no big deal. But, we are Trinbagonians after all; some of the most obstinate and hardened beasts ever to have walked the face of this earth, so think again.
At the heart of the discontent lies the initiative's primary directive that officers abandon the relative comfort of their station desks, and start pounding the streets. And, to help the rank and file along in this regard, the TTPS hierarchy have decided to close some of the police stations in the Western Division, where the scheme is first being piloted; removing some of the officers' after-midnight sleeping dens. The thinking in the higher echelons is that while police stations serve an important purpose, they almost always function in a reactive capacity; a report on an incident is usually lodged at a police station after something has happened.
If the TTPS top-brass is guilty of anything, it is that they have not shouted loudly and widely enough about the benefits to be had by their proposals. Many have criticised the public walkabouts and consultations of Sandy, Gibbs, and other top officials, as mere political gimmick. And, while that aspect cannot entirely be ruled out, for many people living in the under-siege areas, such as in Diego Martin, John John and Sea Lots, who are as much the victims of this upsurge in violence as the rest of us, it means a meaningful chance to engage constructively with those who police their community. A chance to engage, that is, other than at the end of a Galil assault rifle, or a government-issued size ten. Time alone will tell if these measures make any iota of difference. But, we can either continually stare into the abyss; hoping against hope that we don't get sucked in, or we can start taking critical action which may possibly pull us back from the brink. My initial reservations on his appointment have been well-documented here. But, if Dwayne Gibbs, the Canadian national, can leave my country in a better state than which he found it, then I would be among the first in line to shake his hand.
• Kito Johnson, a Trinidadian, is a freelance journalist and security-industry professional based in the United Kingdom.