Hinds: 1,000 more cops by next March

NATIONAL Security Minister Fitzgerald Hinds says the strength of the police service will be increased by 1,007 by next March.

Additionally, Finance Minister Colm Imbert says police officers have no back pay to receive next year because they already received monies owed to them this year.

They made their respective comments before the Standing Finance Committee of the House of Representatives approved an allocation of $2,598,277,200 on October 11.

Imbert said, "There is no decrease in salaries and wages, normal salaries and wages."

He added, "There is no back pay to be paid in 2025."

Imbert described claims from the Opposition UNC of a decrease in police officers' salaries and wages as political mischief.

He said if no back pay was paid to police officers this year, "then clearly there has to be a reduction in the allocation for salaries and wages."

Imbert reminded MPs that police officers were among the public sector workers who accepted a four per cent wage offer from the Chief Personnel Officer (CPO) last year.

The TT Police Service Social and Welfare Association (TTPSSWA) accepted the offer the periods 2014- 2016 and 2017-2019 last February. As a result of accepting this offer, the association's members were entitled to receive back pay.

National Security Minister Fitzgerald Hinds said, "Allocations were made to account for the arrears that would have accrued to them (police officers) during fiscal 2023/2024."

He added, "Those would have been largely dealt with. Therefore, we are back to normal runnings on the new terms."

Naparima MP Rodney Charles asked about a $400 million allocation for overtime in the police service for fiscal 2025.

Hinds said the police have been making "consistent and sustained efforts to reduce the overtime time bill."

He added, "That implies an attempt, implicitly and at the same time, to gain more effort and more productivity during regular work time from the men and women of the TT Police Service."

In response to a question from Barataria/San Juan MP Saddam Hosein, Hinds said, "I would say that the actual strength of the police service is 6,450 personnel."

The sanctioned strength of the service, he continued, is 7,884.

Hinds said, "The operational strength that we have identified, meaning persons who are not on leave, sustained sick leave and that sort of thing, is just about, 5,065."

Hosein recalled government's plan in last year's budget to increase the number of recruits into the service by 1,000.

Hinds said Commissioner of Police Erla Harewood-Christopher advised the government of the shortfall between the sanctioned strength and the actual strength of the service.

"Therefore it was on that basis that the government mandated that 1,000 police officers be recruited in fiscal 2023/2024."

Hinds said, "Thus far, 1,007 persons have been inducted into the service and have been undergoing training."

He added some of these people "have passed out already and others are at different stages of their training."

Hinds said all of them will be "sworn as full fledged police officers in March 2025.

He added, "This was a really great achievement on the part of the police service."

Hinds said efforts by the police to acquire an additional 2,000 vehicles and acquire new vessels for its riverine unit are well under way.