Business community supports police roadblocks

THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY has expressed its support of a series of co-ordinated police exercises along highways and main thoroughfares, which inconvenienced motorists and commuters on July 18.

Newsday spoke to president of the TT Chamber of Industry and Commerce Kiran Maharaj, who, after the chamber’s business outlook event, held at the Hilton Trinidad, Port of Spain, on July 18, said she received no reports of any delays of goods or people as a result of the police exercises.

“I am glad they are doing roadblocks. It means that they are looking for someone,” she said.

She added that police exercises were welcome by her membership, as crime has been a significant challenge for TT citizens and the business community.

“If it's going to help with detection, we will be happy with it,” she said. “We know it would be an inconvenience, but I think that is the price of having proper detection. If this is a strategy for the police to be able to get the leads they need to make arrests, then it has to be done.”

Couva Chamber of Commerce president Deoraj Mahese also said he received no feedback on delays or lateness from his chamber. He said as long as the exercises were properly co-ordinated, it would be a welcome initiative.

“It is an excellent venture by the TTPS to be out there and try to keep control of things and do the necessary checks that people have been asking for,” he said.

He said proper co-ordination of exercises is necessary to avoid the inconvenience that exercises could cause. He suggested utilising the width of the highways to ensure there is a constant flow of traffic while the police are doing their job.

“The highway is three lanes. Police could use one lane as a pull-over lane and the other two for traffic and have your officers look out for whatever seems to be suspicious,” he said.

“If you look at some of the police models in the US, you will see you can co-ordinate something like that without causing an impact.”

Mode Alive CEO Gary Aboud added that the business community ought to give the police its full support. He said that while business was down because of the roadblocks, it was nothing compared to the losses incurred by the scourge of crime.

“It may not agree with commerce, but commerce is being killed by crime,” he said.

“If we have to make sacrifices to facilitate the police, we stand firmly by their side. Business was down this morning with gridlock, but it is insignificant compared to the loss of life and freedom.”

On July 18, drivers spotted road checks along the westbound lanes of the Churchill Roosevelt Highway, Lady Young Road, Eastern Main Road and Debe Highway.

In an earlier report, deputy commissioner of police in charge of operations Junior Benjamin said the police action was part of its strategy to maintain high visibility. Benjamin said the exercises were part and parcel of the police’s examination of the trends of criminals. He said apart from focusing on hotspots, the police are aware that illegal guns are being transported cross-country on the nation’s roads.

Aboud noted that rumours were being spread that the police action was a reaction to a recent memo which announced a decision made by executives in the police service to restrict leave for officers. He said if the rumours were true, then the police would not get the support of the business community.

“If there is any truth to that, if the police are just being directed to conduct exercises in a way that would cause hardship to the public, then that could never be right,” he said.

But head of the Police Social and Welfare Association (PSWA) Gideon Dickson rubbished the rumours, saying the exercises were co-ordinated efforts to fight crime.

“The total policing situation should not have a place in this conversation,” he said.

“I have said this country is not certain what it wants. We want more police and more effective policing but then we don’t want to be inconvenienced. But the reality of the situation is the criminals have been inconveniencing the entire country for quite a while.”

“We, as police officers, hold it close to our hearts that we have a job to do, and we will do it because of the law-abiding citizens of this country deserve it. So when people experience some inconvenience as a result of the actions of the police, please know it is being done to protect you.”

The “day of total policing” took place on March 23, 2015, when 341 police officers set up 29 roadblocks in seven policing divisions, creating massive gridlock for drivers. Police top brass had condemned the action as being done by disgruntled officers sending a message over police wage talks but an inquiry did not lead to any officer being reprimanded.