NYPD to partner with local cops

The Police Service is expected to partner with the New York Police Department (NYPD) as this country strives to further its relationship with William “Bill” Bratton, who was reappointed as the head of the NYPD last month. Bratton, who previously led the Los Angeles Police Department, has been credited for slashing the crime rate during his tenure.

In a telephone interview yesterday, National Security Minister Gary Griffith said Bratton had much to offer to local law enforcement officers, adding that working with Bratton would capitalise on his (Bratton’s) skills and knowledge and would also assist in the compilation of proper scientific data from which proper policies could be built. “Bratton’s involvement with our local officers is something which we already started and one in which I am going to build on,” he said.

“It involves partnering our Police Service with the NYPD to gain experience on a number of areas including community policing, tactical operations and several other matters.” He said Bratton was also known for transforming New York’s officers who were generally known as being “pigs” to America’s finest. “We need to think outside the box,” Griffith added.

Last year, Bratton spent two days in Trinidad conducting a “diagnostic test” on the Police Service. During a presentation at the Hyatt Regency hotel, Port-of-Spain, Bratton said only “a tool, fool and a mule” would work for no money or low wages as he emphasised the need for better salaries for police officers. He had said meagre pay and failure to properly award officers who went above and beyond the call of duty paved the way for officers to accept bribes and other inducements.

In December last year, Griffith met with John Huvane, the chief executive officer of Giuliani Security & Safety, which is owned by former New York mayor Rudolph “Rudy” Giuliani, to discuss strategies to deal with T&T’s crime and national security issues.