Bigger police budget welcome, but delivery overdue

On Wednesday, Finance Minister Colm Imbert announced that the Government would increase funding to the TT Police Service by an additional $57 million to pay creditors.

Piloting the Finance (Supplementation and Variation of Appropriation) (Financial Year 2021) Bill, 2021, Mr Imbert promised that aside from the original TTPS appropriation of $300 million and a freshly negotiated $200 million loan, the allocation will be increased by $57 million.

The Finance Minister expects the Commissioner of Police to use between $150 and $200 million to settle the outstanding bills that have been piling up since 2018.

Mr Griffith, in March 2019, told the Public Administration and Appropriation Committee, "I am not asking for a requirement for more resources than what has been approved in the budget."

At the time, the CoP was managing a debt of $47 million and just getting started asking suppliers for credit.

By February, CoP Gary Griffith pegged the TTPS debt $182 million. That debt is now estimated at $330 million.

How did this happen?

The crisis in funding for the TTPS is the result of the difference between a budgetary allocation and its disbursement.

Money allocated in the budget for the service hasn't been approved on a regular schedule, and the shortfall has continued for years.

Despite reducing spending in the last fiscal year by more than $50 million, the police service still found itself in continuing debt and continued its operations by asking suppliers for credit.

The budgetary allocation dropped by half in the 2020/2021 budget, from last year's $515 million to $270 million.

The budget for a boldly trumpeted ICT initiative dropped from $100 million to $20 million, making the project a trial, at best.

The history of gaps between promised funding for the police and a reality of sucking salt precedes Mr Griffith's appointment. A promised disbursement of $80 million in January 2019 turned out to be $20 million, used for essential services and supplies.

That's a daunting slip between the cup and the lip in governance.

Beyond the day-to-day humiliation of persuading suppliers to wait on payments and ensuring that utilities aren't cut for late settlement, several strategic improvements championed by the CoP have been delayed.

Among them are the deployment of minimum use-of-force tools like pepper spray and tasers, and the widespread use of performance accountability systems like body cameras which the police service can't buy in meaningful quantities.

The new allocations promise to correct the financial listing of the TTPS ship, but continued and committed real-world support will be necessary to enable the Police Commissioner to chart a corrective course for the institution.