Detectives of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) in south Trinidad are calling for a 50 per cent increase in manpower in that division. Senior detectives in the Southern Division complained that their ability to solve crimes was being hampered by a shortage of manpower and poor management of crime files.
Sources said while the Government had invested millions of dollars in police vehicles to respond to crimes, there were often no drivers for these vehicles. The CID, with an average of four detectives per station, tackles crime reports. The detectives said despite the massive workload, there was an unwillingness by officers to join the department because of a lack of incentives.
CID personnel do not get overtime payment and frequently officers use their personal time to attend court. "Sometimes we work in excess of 25 hours per week and we cannot claim overtime like the uniformed officers," an officer explained. "The CID is more demanding. Some of us work six or seven days per week. If we have a day off, we have to attend court. We are always on call and we are always on the front line when there is a crime."
Another detective said some CID officers had to cover a large geographical area and often, because of the manpower shortage, their response was delayed. At the Princes Town CID, only four officers are stationed to cover a region spanning parts of Williamsville, Tableland, Moruga and all of Princes Town. "We work longer hours than the uniformed police...It is stressful and difficult and we need more manpower in the CID," the spokesman said.
He said even though 500 officers were trained annually, at least 200 more were retiring or proceeding on pre-retirement leave every year. "That is why we need at least 1,000 officers being trained per year," the officer said. Detectives of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) in south Trinidad are calling for a 50 per cent increase in manpower in that division.
Senior detectives in the Southern Division complained that their ability to solve crimes was being hampered by a shortage of manpower and poor management of crime files. Sources said while the Government had invested millions of dollars in police vehicles to respond to crimes, there were often no drivers for these vehicles. The CID, with an average of four detectives per station, tackles crime reports.
The detectives said despite the massive workload, there was an unwillingness by officers to join the department because of a lack of incentives. CID personnel do not get overtime payment and frequently officers use their personal time to attend court. "Sometimes we work in excess of 25 hours per week and we cannot claim overtime like the uniformed officers," an officer explained.
"The CID is more demanding.
Some of us work six or seven days per week. If we have a day off, we have to attend court. We are always on call and we are always on the front line when there is a crime." Another detective said some CID officers had to cover a large geographical area and often, because of the manpower shortage, their response was delayed. At the Princes Town CID, only four officers are stationed to cover a region spanning parts of Williamsville, Tableland, Moruga and all of Princes Town.
"We work longer hours than the uniformed police...It is stressful and difficult and we need more manpower in the CID," the spokesman said. He said even though 500 officers were trained annually, at least 200 more were retiring or proceeding on pre-retirement leave every year."That is why we need at least 1,000 officers being trained per year," the officer said.