Worries over crime spike

THE GAINS made by the police service over the past two years in restoring public trust and confidence and decreasing violent crime by as much as 25 per cent could soon come crashing down.

A significant cut in funding in the 2020-2021 budget threatens to ground police patrols and restrict technological advances, including the purchase of non-lethal weapons.

The budget documents show the police, like many other departments of the protective services, had their budgetary allocation shaved as Government sought to curtail expenditure in the face of low oil and gas prices, a contracted economy and fallout from the pandemic.

Finance Minister Colm Imbert on Monday announced that national security will get the third largest share of the $49 billion package with $5.227 billion, to share among the police, prison, defence force, immigration, fire service and other arms.

But while an estimated $2.28 billion has been set aside to keep the police service afloat, the bulk ($1.817 billion) will be spent on salaries and cost of living allowance for the 7,000-strong force.

POLICE OWING

This leaves just $270 million to pay for goods and services. A sizeable portion, an estimated $60 million, has already been earmarked to clear outstanding debt. The allocation last year for goods and services was $515 million.

Information obtained by Newsday shows that the police owe private garages, gas stations, caterers, janitorial services, vehicle rental companies and medical facilities, among others, for services in the last fiscal year. Many companies continued to provide service without payment.

President of the Police Social and Welfare Association Insp Gideon Dickson said while police officers are aware of the impact covid19 has on the economy, he suggests a revision of the allocation to national security, and intends to meet with Commissioner of Police Gary Griffith by mid-next week to express the views of his membership.

Dickson said the freeze in hiring, the fact that police are still earning 2013 salaries, and the inability to acquire the right tools and resources put officers at a disadvantage which can affect the public's right to safety and security.

"We see this as a slap in the face, to get a budgetary allocation less than what is anticipated and expect the same or better level of service," he said. Questions sent to Minister of National Security Stuart Young were not acknowledged. Griffith when contacted would only say that it was inappropriate for him to comment on matters relating to the budget but he intends to "make the best out of what was due."

For the past few weeks police have noticed a spike in home invasions in both urban and rural communities and noted that criminals are adapting to the restrictions imposed for covid19, and to combat this they need to intensify patrols.

Of the 1,100 police vehicles, 200 motorcycles and 400 unmarked vehicles used by officers at any given time, at least 20 per cent are down for repair. In keeping with international practice, a similar percentage should be bought as these vehicles usually work 24 hours a day and seven days a week.

The outstanding bill to private repair shops and the Vehicle Maintenance Company of TT is close to $11 million. If that sum is subtracted from the budgetary allocation of $19 million, that leaves just $9 million to service the fleet for the next 12 months. The 2021 request was $39 million.

NO NEW VEHICLES

A significant proportion of police vehicles are over five years old and require frequent repairs, as they are not custom-built, as in other jurisdictions, to withstand the wear and tear of everyday use. No money has been allocated to buy new vehicles in 2021, according to the draft estimates of expenditure.

A plan to reintroduce fuel depots and re-establish the motor pool section to repair police vehicles has also been shelved. For equipment such as bulletproof vests, Tasers, pepper spray and body cameras, the allocation was cut from over $70 million to a paltry $8 million, meaning many of the plans to implement non-lethal weapons for beat officers will have to be shelved.

The purchase of body cameras for task force officers and specialised operational teams was meant to provide greater scrutiny and absolve officers from allegations of abusing their power or claims of extra-judicial killings.

The construction of a hospital for police officers and expansion of the Police Academy have also been put on ice. A request for $25 million to meet the rising cost of medical expenses for officers injured in the line of duty received a budgetary allocation of $1.5 million and
stagnates any move to engage in a medical insurance plan for officers.

The $1.9 million allocated for the hospital will be used to upgrade equipment and refurbish the old facility at Police Barracks in St James. This will, in turn, shut down the planned increase in the intake in the number of recruits by 100 to 300 and will prolong the long-term goal of rebuilding police manpower, as a growing number of officers are scheduled to retire in the next three years.

The much-touted reintroduction of the police marine branch will suffer the same fate, as only $500,000 has been allocated to it, not nearly enough to buy one go-fast patrol boat and specialised uniforms for the unit.

The information technology advances will also have to be curtailed, as out of the $100 million requested, $20 million has been budgeted, which will no doubt reduce capacity to introduce real-time transfer of data to computers in police cars via tablets.

Other areas likely to be affected by the shortfall are the maintenance of CCTV cameras, GPS devices in cars, and other surveillance equipment needed in the fight against crime.

Another key project, the Sexual Victims Unit – a special team to deal with rape and other sexual offences – cannot get off the ground, as funds to outfit police stations with private and comfortable rooms for victims have not been provided. Rooms equipped for police to attend virtual court from district stations will have to be scrapped.