Senior Reporter-Investigative
jensen.lavende@guardian.co.tt
The Government will spend an additional $401 million in fiscal 2024 on salaries to beef up manpower in the fight against crime.
This injection is to cover the cost of 1,000 new police officers and provide financial incentives for specialised units. The increased manpower was announced by Finance Minister Colm Imbert last Monday during the 2024 Budget presentation.
With an expected increase in manpower, the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) has projected a decrease in the overtime bill by $100 million—taking it from an estimated $360 million this year to $260 million in 2024. In the years since the PNM took office, the highest overtime bill was $396.3 million in 2017.
Personnel expenditure for the TTPS in fiscal 2024 is projected at $2.3 billion.
Between 2015 and 2022 the TTPS spent some $15.823 billion with an estimated $1.876 billion utilised in 2023.
Money will also be spent on the acquisition of new vehicles and the reinvigoration of old units. The Government, however, could not state the impact of the $80 million injection for new vehicles. This year it is estimated to cost $25 million to lease vehicles and equipment while vehicle maintenance costs an additional $28 million.
In allocating the increased sums to the TTPS, Imbert said it would be money well spent.
“At the top of our crime-fighting agenda is equipping law enforcement with state-of-the-art tools. In addition, accelerated levels of police training improve police performance. We envisage that crime and public order would be effectively addressed within this framework, and public confidence in law enforcement would be appropriately enhanced,” he said.
There will also be a revamping of the Coastal and Riverine Patrol Unit, for which former police commissioner Gary Griffith has boasted ownership. Recognising the need for greater border security, Imbert allocated $15 million to the TTPS to set up the unit at the Carenage Police Station.
This unit was already established in 2018 under the leadership of Griffith as police commissioner. Budgetary documents showed that $500,000 was allocated then for its formation. There were further promises of a plan to construct a jetty for the unit and expand it to other parts of the country.
Imbert’s announcement touched on the construction of the jetty and outfitting the unit with up to ten fast and nimble inshore vessels.
Hours after the budget was presented, the president of the TTPS Police Social and Welfare Association ASP Gideon Dickson said it was a budget for his officers. He said based on Imbert’s recollection of lowered crime statistics in some areas, with a police service shy of about 1,300, it meant that officers were doing a good job and would only do better with increased staff.