Friend was right about need for 20 foreign cops

Seldom have I seen the look of pure joy on some-one’s face as Dawn Gibbs showed at Piarco Airport as she prepared to leave Trinidad for the final time. Yes, the wife of the ex-top cop could not hide her delight at being delivered from the corruption, cronyism, political interference, poor work ethic and racial prejudice her husband has had to put up with over the past two years.

In this regard, just before the two ex-top cops arrived to take up duty in T&T, one of the nation’s top business executives urged me to write a letter suggesting that the country needed at least 20 top foreign law enforcement officers to have any chance of successfully starting the process of changing the failing culture of local law enforcement.

This person was adamant that when the top local brass of a system of long-term failure like the T&T Police Service are exposed to proven 21st century methods of successful policing they will strongly defend their old failing ways by resisting change at all costs.

So this executive felt it would take way more leadership than Gibbs and Ewatski could possibly provide to get the Police Service heading in the right direction. With the hindsight of recent developments, I fear that my friend has been proven correct.

Gregory Wight
Diego Martin