The vetting process to enter the Police Service is being called into question after the police found that an officer who allegedly had an outstanding warrant for a prostitution charge ten years ago was serving as a Special Reserve Police officer.
According to police sources, the officer, Shireen Khan, a serving member of the Police Service for the past seven years, was last attached to Interpol as she is fluent in Mandarin (Chinese language). It was there that a senior officer decided to do a thorough investigation on the officer and allegedly found that she had an arrest warrant for prostitution that was issued in 1996 after she was charged the previous year. Khan appeared before a Port-of-Spain magistrate on Thursday and was granted $15,000 bail to re-appear in court on December 8.
In a telephone interview, head of the Police Service Social and Welfare Association, Insp Michael Seales, said something has to be done with regards to the vetting of potential officers in the future.
He added that those seeking to join the service either as an SRP or a regular member should have their faces publicised in the media so that there will be a nationwide input on the potential officers.
Seales said, "What we want is for the Commissioner of Police to do a proper investigation into how this officer was allowed to enter the Police Service. The association is a bit baffled. We don't want to look at that person alone but who would have done that whole recruitment because everyone who played a part had a right to discover that. The person who did the recruitment they must pay the price for dropping the ball on this. What did they know? What did they do?"
Acting Police Commissioner Stephen Williams when contacted said he did not have the full details regarding the alleged incident involving Khan but has requested it and will respond when he has the information.
"I gave a public commitment to focus on cleaning out the Police Service and any officer who is involved in any corrupt illegal or any criminal conduct. So that is what we are on a mission to do. It is tough business but it is important business and that is what I have set about focusing on. I do hope very soon I will be in a better position to say that the Police Service has very few if any corrupt officers involved in criminal activity," Williams said.
On November 16, Williams called on the public to keep the faith in the T&T Police Service as he promised to root out all rogue officers. He added that there were 150 officers before the courts for various offences.
Since then there were others charged including Khan and four arrested, three for purportedly extorting monies from an alleged pimp and one arrested yesterday after he allegedly sold car parts from a derelict police vehicle at a police station in the Central Division.
Williams said, "The Professional Standards Bureau (the policing unit in charge of investigating, arresting and charging rogue officers) have a special mandate and we are improving their manpower slowly because we have to look at quality and not quantity and that is where our challenge is. We need the best quality to go there and it is not about adding members. To enter there is an additional polygraph test that must be done. There is no obligation for a serving member to undergo a polygraph examination, (but) when you have to go to the PSB and other specialist units you have to undergo a polygraph examination.
"You could choose not to undergo the polygraph because that is not required under the law but you will not be assigned to the unit. Out of the last negotiations we were able to get an additional $1,000 to operate a special allowance as an incentive to join the service."
Regarding body cameras for his officers, Williams said he is strapped for cash to outfit each officer but come next year the pilot project that began in Central Division this year will be expanded. He did not say how many divisions but added that it will not be for the entire country. He added that, hopefully, in the 2018 budgetary allocation there will be enough to outfit his officers with body cameras.
Following the shooting death of Anton "Bready" Mitchell at the hands of police under what have been deemed "questionable circumstances" on November 24, the issue of body cameras resurfaced along with dashboard cameras.
Williams said that he has requested the footage from the body cameras at the scene of Mitchell's shooting after residents protested and claimed that he was murdered by crooked cops in the Central Division.
Williams said that some of the officers around at the time were reportedly wearing their body cameras which were affixed to either their caps or sunglasses. The T&T Guardian has been told, however, that the officers directly involved in the shooting were not wearing the equipment.