Senior Reporter
anna-lisa.paul@guardian.co.tt
The T&T Police Service (TTPS) is restricting vacation and compensatory leave for officers until further notice, following a call for more boots on the ground as crime-fighting initiatives intensify.
It was estimated that hundreds of officers from the ten policing divisions were out yesterday as they carried out roadblocks and stop-and-search exercises. Advising regional and divisional commanders to communicate the most recent restriction to all officers in a memorandum dated July 16, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Administration and Operational Support Natasha George said the directive was “due to ongoing exigencies of the organisation.”
She further advised that leave requests approved before July 16 may be rescinded or amended. The restriction comes on the heels of a promise by Police Commissioner Erla Harewood-Christopher that the TTPS would be moving to immediately increase the number of police officers on the ground as they intensify crime-fighting efforts following the bloody weekend of July 13 and 14.
George said, “This measure has become imperative to the maintenance and increase of current anti-crime initiatives, where additional human resources are required to stymie the surge of homicides and other serious criminal activities.”
In addition, George said approval had been granted by Harewood-Christopher for the extension of gratuitous leave previously granted by Departmental Order No 26 of 2024 (Carnival Leave) until September 30. Two days after the memo was issued, officers hit the streets.
The anti-crime measure led to major traffic pile-ups, which left members of the public frustrated and angry.
Denying it was another Day of Total Policing as was experienced on March 23, 2015, in which 341 officers embarked on similar operations in both islands, which led to a traffic gridlock and massive inconvenience, a senior TTPS official yesterday described it “as structured exercises which are more strategic. It is not consistent with that day of policing.”
Claiming this was part of the TTPS’s effort to address the crime situation, the official said it was not a one-off occurrence and warned, “There will continue to be similar exercises throughout.”
The official said the human resource component of this thrust was the most critical aspect, and officers had been supportive of the heightened crime plan.
Public asked to cooperate
TTPS Media Ambassador ASP Rajesh Lal spoke of the heightened efforts when he appeared on CNC3’s Morning Brew yesterday. “It will continue, and we intend to also get the assistance of our brothers and sisters in other defence agencies,” he said.
He said joint army and police patrols would again be seen throughout certain communities.
Lal begged members of the public to understand why it was necessary to carry out such operations, and he urged people to cooperate with the TTPS. Frustrated members of the public took to social media to voice their upset over the traffic pile-ups, which led to missed appointments and delays yesterday. One man wrote, “What I can’t understand is we can group up & go behind law-abiding citizens going about their daily duties, but we can’t group up and go behind the ones distressing citizens every day.”
Another said, “If this was one of their strategies to get the wrongdoers, they better go back to school & study because they just stressing the ones who are trying to keep afloat every day.”
Criminal elements too comfortable—TTPSSWA
Head of the T&T Police Service Social and Welfare Association (TTPSSWA) ASP Gideon Dickson said the public will continue to witness increased activities that will be “communicated physically more than verbally.”
Dickson said the heightened initiatives had become necessary as “the criminal elements there had become too comfortable, so efforts are being made to cause those persons to be brought to justice.”
However, he admitted, “The public will have some discomfort.”
Regarding yesterday’s operations across the country and the resultant inconvenience, the TTPSSWA head said, “We cannot want change and expect for us to be doing things the same way to acquire that change. The public can’t want policing, and when you get policing, you complain about the policing that you get. There will be some inconvenience to the law-abiding.”
Asked about the TTPSSWA’s concerns regarding the increased demands being placed on officers, he said, “We are concerned about the mental, physical, and psycho-social wellbeing of all officers, particularly because we are often the magnifying glass for our ability to operate and respond.”
He said the restriction on leave was a card that continued to be used by the TTPS management dating back to December 2019. Dickson said several occurrences during that time have seen such restrictions being enforced.
He said, “It is a grave concern to us as an association” because the data and the jury are still out in terms of effectiveness.