Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley stressed that national security will remain the responsibility of the government, despite the announcement by the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) about the formation of a Tobago Police force.
Speaking the Conversations with the Prime Minister event in Tobago last night, he explained that the previous proposal for a Tobago Police draft bill would have required the government to make a series of amendments to various laws, which was too complex at the time, about 15 years ago.
However, Dr Rowley said the government is now looking at the possibility of making “manageable amendments” to the THA Act, similar to the arrangements made for the municipal corporations in Trinidad. "I have asked the Attorney General (Reginald Amour) to look at that and hopefully soon we could get some answers and see a pathway in Tobago getting the second level of police officers."
The commissioner of police has beef up security in Tobago which Dr Rowley felt will help reduce crime on the island. “There will be a unit of the Inter-agency Task Force here in Tobago. These are police officers… They are specially trained. They act on fresh or growing criminal threats."
He said there will also be a Guard and Emergency Branch unit on the island. Rowley further indicated that the government is seeking to find a practical solution that would allow Tobago to have an enhanced role in policing, within the existing legal and constitutional framework.