The T&T Police Service has stepped up its investigation into the July 24 prison break by adding more investigators to the case, acting Police Commissioner Stephen Williams said yesterday.The jailbreak, which saw prisoners Allan "Scanny" Martin, Hassan Atwell and Christopher "Monster" Selby shoot their way out of the Frederick Street, Port-of-Spain prison, killing PC Sherman Maynard during their escape, is now the subject of a major police investigation.
Martin was killed by police moments later inside a guard booth at the Port-of-Spain General Hospital while Atwell was shot dead in east Port-of-Spain the following day, allegedly by rival gang members. Selby surrendered to police last Sunday.
Speaking about the progress of the probe at the Seventh Walk Against Domestic Violence which began near the St James amphitheatre yesterday, Williams said: "The prison break investigation is on. The Deputy Commissioner in charge of crime, Glen Hackett, has recently added investigators to the team so that the investigation can be speeded up, so we can bring closure to that investigation within the shortest period of time."
Last Friday, news broke that seven officers were facing suspension for their alleged involvement in the prison break.Prison Officers Association president Ceron Richards, however, would only indicate that he too had heard the news but could not confirm its accuracy. There was, however, no official denial of the media reports over the weekend.
Asked yesterday whether he had information on whether more prison officers were likely to be suspended, Williams said: "It is a question for the Prison Commissioner, he would control the prison officers, whether they are suspended whether they are on duty, I can't speak to that."Asked about prisoners having access to cellphones and Facebook pages from inside the prisons, Williams said both the police and prisons have different roles and functions.
"The police service has a role, the prisons is controlled by a prisons commissioner, the police service is controlled by a commissioner of police."The question is what happens inside the prisons and why do they have a Facebook page, why do they have cellphones–anything that happens in the prisons are questions which should be posed to the prison commissioner."
Responding to reports in the media about the suggestion by Jason Brown, the brother-in-law of killed escapee Martin, that another prison break could happen, Williams said: "Understand the issue here is a concern (about the prison system) many persons have expressed, a concern about the entire criminal justice system.
"The police service, prisons, the courts are parts of that criminal justice system. We (the police) have a role and are trying to fulfil our role as the police service to the best of our ability."We are really seeking to have the criminal justice system which can see persons going through the entire system in a speedy manner, but it takes beyond the police service, it takes many facets to cause that to happen we are trying our best to fulfil our part."