National awards – our tribute to service

Debbie Jacob

I AM BAFFLED by former police commissioner Gary Griffith’s uncalled-for criticism of two 2024 Chaconia Silver national award recipients, former acting police commissioners James Philbert and Stephen Williams. I am disappointed, too, not just because it was an unprofessional and mean-spirited thing to do, but because it represents one of our biggest problems in this country: self- aggrandisement.

It takes nothing away from us to celebrate others’ success and recognition. People can say whatever they want about you, but talk can never erase facts. Someone will set the record straight, as retired police inspector Lindsay Wheeler did with anecdotes and information that showed the character of Philbert and Williams.

Pointing out that Griffith had not come up the ranks of the police service and so had not experienced the work of Philbert and Williams, Wheeler said, “If you were a police officer, you would have known the very massive contribution, commitment and patriotism displayed by commissioner Philbert and commissioner Williams, both of whom worked their way upwards in the police service from the rank of constable.”

He wrote about Philbert’s reputation as a “work jumbie,” motivator and masterful interviewer who got suspects to “break, cry and confess their involvement…in crime” with no physical coercion.

Wheeler said Williams “probably still has the record for obtaining the most convictions as a police court prosecutor in the police service…Defence attorneys were very fearful of him.” He called Williams an excellent administrator who gave everyone a hearing.
“He has dedicated all his energies to the upliftment of the TT Police Service (TTPS).”

Wheeler also lauded Williams’s selflessness, saying Willi­ams, former corporal Wayne Hayde and many other officers had dedicated many off-duty hours for several months – i­nclu­ding weekends – to help officers of varying ranks prepare for police promotion examinations.

Philbert’s and Williams’s response to Griffith’s attack showed how little Griffith knew about the two former acting commissioners. Williams even pointed out that while Griffith was busy "bigging up" himself for the lowest crime rate while he was head of national security, Williams had been the sitting police commissioner.

And here’s something else you wouldn’t know about Philbert and Williams. They were the two  commissioners who sanctioned my research of the canine section to write Police Dogs of Trinidad and Tobago: a 70-Year History, published in the US. They gave me unrestricted access to canine officers and the police dogs’ files so people could have a different vision of how crime developed in this country.

Philbert and Stephens were progressive, supportive commissioners who understood the importance of finding new angles to tell our history, and I will forever be grateful for their support.

Those police dog files were destroyed in the 2018 flood in Caroni. If not for their forward-thinking vision, invaluable records and history would literally have just washed away.

As a Chaconia Gold medal recipient, I know just how unexpected these national awards are, and how much it hurts when people, not knowing how the process works, voice opinions that recipients didn’t deserve their awards.

Because of the covid19 pandemic, my 2020 award was handed out at a ceremony in 2022. I could not have imagined the amount of public support I received or how much it seemed to have upset prison officers. I heard they said those awards should go to people working in prisons – not volunteers like me. I received my award for my work in prisons and with police canine. Canine officers from as far back as the 60s called to congratulate me, and that mitigated my sadness and embarrassment at prisons' reaction.

Those of us who receive such awards don’t seek accolades. If our work gets noticed it comes as a shock. The people who know us well and observe our work and character first-hand recommend us for these awards.

Of all Griffith’s remarks, the one about political favouritism shocked me the most. With the exception of Stuart Young, now Energy Minister, no elected government official ever expressed any interest in or support for my work.

Distinguished citizens serve on the panel that selects national award recipients, and it is unfair to taint that panel as being politically biased.

And so, Philbert and Willliams, I congratulate you on your much-deserved national awards. I am one of those people who witnessed your support and dedication to your profession and this country. You offered me the experience of a lifetime. This country can experience 70 years of its history in a whole new light because of you.