ACP: Plan to rotate police to Tobago mustn't be politicised

HEAD of the Tobago Division ACP Collis Hazel says the decision to rotate police officers between Trinidad and Tobago to ensure greater effectiveness in the fight against crime must not be politicised.

He made the statement on July 23 during an interview on the Tobago Updates morning show.

Hazel was asked to respond to the view that Tobago and Trinidad may not benefit from the best police officers during the rotation.

He said, “One of the things that we do not want to do in the TTPS is to politicise the TTPS. We continue to be one organisation. I make that statement all the time.

“We are not the Tobago House of Assembly, where you have divisions in terms of electoral districts. And I think Tobago needs to understand that the TTPS is one TTPS that serves this twin-island republic.”

Hazel said when he and other senior officers, including retired ACP William Nurse, completed their training at the St James Police Academy, they did not return immediately to Tobago, but worked at various stations in Trinidad.

“Wherever you are posted, you are called to protect and serve this country. And you have to go there. It is about utilising your resources. It is ensuring that the best resources are placed where they are required.”

He said he returned recently from a leadership symposium for law enforcement officers in El Salvador, where they were exposed to a different style of treating with their human resources.

“We have gone past operating with passion in terms of where you will place people to best serve this country.”

Hazel said Nurse, who served as Tobago’s ACP several years ago, was a very good officer in terms of intelligence and crime-fighting during his active years.

“But Mr Nurse went to Trinidad. He got an acting (appointment) and he had to go and pick it up somewhere else. Would he not pick it up?

"At the end of the day, we can’t want to have this argument that: 'Trinidad taking this and Tobago taking this.' It is foolishness. The idea is where you are called to serve this country, you have to serve.

“So you can have vice versa in terms of very good officers from Trinidad come to Tobago and we have a mixture. We are one TTPS. We are not separated to say that you are from Tobago and you have to sit down here and serve Tobago all the time.”

Hazel said the individual holding the position of police commissioner at any given time has the power to allocate resources at his or her disposal to serve this country.

“We must respect that.”

Given the escalation in murders and other violent crimes on the island, Hazel said Tobago needed a different approach to policing.

He added the division had been experiencing challenges “even for information that will help us in solving crime and criminal activities on the island.

"And therefore we think the time has come for us to make that switch around in terms of first-division officers from time to time and, therefore, we need to now look at the lower ranks in terms of pooling the human resources.”

Hazel believes the rotation can be made with some degree of success.

On Tobago’s crime-fighting strategies, Hazel said members of various units of the police service, including the Inter-Agency Task Force and Guard and Emergency Branch, are already on the ground and making an impact.

He added the TTPS also has brought on board the Fraud Squad “so that persons don’t have to think about journeying to Trinidad or being afraid to make their reports at stations.”

The Fraud Squad is based at the Shirvan Road Police Station.

Hazel said there is also an arm of the Police Complaints Authority on the island.

He said the division, from time to time, has also brought on board the Riverine Unit to deal with environmental issues.