CoP: Stop blaming police for domestic violence

Police Commissioner Gary Griffith has called on the Coalition Against Domestic Violence (CADV) not to blame the police service for deaths that occur as a result of domestic violence.

He was responding to a Trinidad Express article on Sunday which said, “Police officers continue to hamper themselves by insisting that there is nothing else they can do if the victim does not co-operate.”

CADV's comments came after Tricia Ramsaran’s body was found last Wednesday morning at the home of her common-law husband in Barrackpore.

Griffith, in a media release on Sunday, said often the police are blamed, but the facts of a situation are not thoroughly investigated before judgment is passed.

On Ramsaran’s case, Griffith said, “For the record, Ramsaran made no reports to the police about any spousal abuse, neither did she seek or obtain any protection orders. She never engaged the Gender Based Violence Unit (GBVU).

“The only report made in May to the Barrackpore Police Station, came from the mother of the deceased who reported that the suspect had threatened her. The police responded to the report where the suspect was warned.”

He added that Ramsaran had said she wanted to remove her belongings from the suspect’s home but indicated she was not ready to do so at that time. He added she later moved back into the home until her death.

Griffith said the police has done their part in improving the services to assist domestic violence victims through a series of initiatives and called on CADV to improve  the way it handles assistance to those affected.

“It would appear that the CADV is the one who needs to improve."

Griffith said he had realised the importance of dealing with domestic and gender-based violence, hence the establishment of the GBVU in January. The Special Victims Department has also since been launched.

"We have formed a special unit to deal with domestic violence. We got the best international training through the New York Police Department. We put in a police app for emergency calls. We linked the GBVU to 999 and the Emergency Response Patrol for immediate response. We changed how restraining orders are dealt with. There is now a better degree of confidentiality by there now being an elite unit. There is a marked increase in reports which shows victims are now coming out as they feel that their concern would be dealt with.”

Griffith further alleged that flaws in the judicial system allowed the suspect, who committed a similar crime in 2006, to be released on a $50,000 bond to keep the peace for five years after he pleaded guilty to manslaughter due to extenuating circumstances.

He said, “The criminal justice system is the issue. Just as when people are held with guns planning to kill others, they are released the next day on bail. They plead guilty and get a $5,000 fine to come back into society to do it again. There are no consequences. Which is why they do it.”

He added that people needed to step up when there are cases of domestic violence so that action can be taken.

"Many families, friends, neighbours and fellow employees always talk after the death, saying they knew this for years. They said nothing. If they had done so, this could have been used to charge him even though the victim did not report it.

"But everyone stays silent. And when someone is killed, the police is at fault.”