NTA: Don't bash Erla, fire the PSC

The National Transformation Alliance (NTA) in a statement on Thursday urged the firing of the Police Service Commission (PSC) for appointing Commissioner of Police Erla Harewood-Christopher who gave a lacklustre performance at a parliamentary committee on Wednesday.

The party, headed by former CoP Gary Griffith, commented on the sitting of the Joint Select Committee (JSC) on National Security in a statement titled, We need to stop the Erla bashing. It is the Police Service Commission that needs to be removed.

"For the past year, the public has become more critical of commissioner Harewood-Christopher," the NTA said.

The party said it understood the public’s frustration over escalating crime, public trust in the police falling from 59 per cent to eight per cent under the current commissioner's tenure, and the first and second most murderous years in TT's history.

"The truth is, she is not at fault because she didn’t appoint herself. Blame must rest squarely on the Police Service Commission who appointed her," the NTA statement said.

The NTA claimed Harewood-Christopher scored low in several key areas when initially assessed for the CoP post by the PSC.

"Her lack of any plans, policies, and initiatives and her inability to speak clearly when questioned should not be surprising," the NTA release said.

"It would be like blaming someone playing school’s cricket who was consistently getting ducks for continued failures, if they were somehow appointed to play on the West Indies Cricket Team.

"We would rightfully blame the selectors, and in the case of Harewood-Christopher, the then Judith Jones-led Police Service Commission, are the ones who the public should be directing their questions and anger at."