The Prison Officers Association is raising issues again about the protection of their members in the wake of another attack on an officer.
Although police officers yesterday were still trying to determine the circumstances that led to prisons officer Naresh Toll being shot at his DVD business, president of the Prisons Officers' Association Ceron Richards said their lives were always under threat.
It was for reasons like that that Richards said the association had now bypassed Government and was drafting letters to the United Nations and other international groups to lobby the State into action. He said both the present and former governments had failed to bring legislation and measures to protect law enforcement officers.
Police said Toll, 44, a prisons officer with 20 years service, was in his DVD club at his home at St Croix Road, Barrackpore, on Tuesday around 7.30 pm when the incident occurred. Two men, one armed with a gun, reportedly walked into the store and asked for him. When he responded, he was shot in both legs and the gunmen ran off.
Toll's wife, Samdaye, took him to the Princes Town District Health Facility, where he received emergency treatment and was later transferred to the San Fernando General Hospital and warded in a stable condition.
While a motive was not yet determined yesterday, investigators said nothing was stolen and it appeared to be a direct attack on Toll. They said he was also robbed and beaten at the store lastSaturday.
While Toll was at work at the Golden Grove Prison, Arouca, about a month ago, police went to his home and arrested a worker with five packets of marijuana. However, communications head of the T&T Prison Service, Krishna Bedassie, said investigations have not revealed any evidence that his attack was work-related. But he said it will be looked into as the investigations were not yet over.
Speaking by telephone yesterday, Richards said while it was not yet known if the attack was work-related, the association had made recommendations in the past to ensure members were protected. They included firearm-user licences and legislation with severe penalties against anyone conspiring or executing an attack on prisons officers.
He said although the proposals were made under the People's Partnership, they again wrote to Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi earlier this year but the only response they got was an acknowledgment of the letter.
Richards said approximately 20 prisons officers have been killed in the past 20 years, resulting in T&T having one of the highest rate of prisons officer killings per captia.
"It is open season against prisons officers and there is no deterrent. We had asked for laws with several penalties against a person wanting to take a contract to kill prisons officers so they would want to think twice. We have signalled our intention to go international and not grovel with any government. I think we have exhausted all our avenues to get politicians to get a handle on this situation," Richards added..