Criminologist Prof Ramesh Deosaran said the implementation of a colour-coded alert system for the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service could help police respond to crimes more efficiently.
On Monday, Commissioner of Police Gary Griffith said the code system could be implemented in three weeks.
The levels will be green, amber, red and black. He said the levels will increase based on information received from T&T’s intelligence agencies to provide a better response from police officers.
Deosaran, speaking on CNC 3’s the Morning Brew, said the alert system would potentially be a good management tool which “puts some science into the police response to threats’ but he required more information as to how it would be implemented.
“The question would arise as to how will you configure this into the Police Service, whether it will be centralised or whether the system will be operated at every one of the 70 police stations we have across the country,” said Deosaran.
“How will it be operationalised at the ground level?” he asked.
He said such an implementation should also prompt another look at the use of manpower and other resources of the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service.
Additionally, he said that the various colours had to be linked or associated to specific events or scenarios that would leave officers in no doubt as to what they should prepare to encounter. This, Deosaran said, could also create the need for new training regimens for officers.
However, Deosaran still believed it could help the police in their efforts.
The criminologist, however, said there were other factors which contributed to a crime that continues to be ignored.
“We have not been looking at the education system. The education system has failed to great extent in having these dropouts and marginalised young men from drifting into gangs and into violent behaviour and drug trafficking. So we have to stop the supply side of this criminality,” said Deosaran.