Tobago top cops promise improved service after complaints to PCA

People in Tobago are expected to get an improved customer service from the police with the roll out of a new customer service initiative.

Two of the island's top officers, Assistant Commissioner Oswain Subero and Snr Supt Earl Elie said they aware there have been complaints about their officers.

Their comments were in response to statistics revealed during a Police Complaints Authority (PCA) consultation in Canaan on November 14, which revealed between 2014 and November 2024, there were 553 initial reports and 351 formal complaints about Tobago police officers. Most of the reports were for discreditable conduct.

Twenty-three of those reports were referred to the Commissioner of Police, six to the Director of Public Prosecutions and four to both.

Subero told Newsday he intended to look into the matter to determine whether it was an issue of customer service, if the officers were not investigating reports or some other issue.

Elie said complaints about officers was nothing new but since he had been stationed in Tobago in September, he had received no official complaints about the officers. He encouraged members of the public to come to the police with any complaints.

“We don’t encourage that kind of behaviour at all. We are well prepared to treat with our own.

“We, the leadership, are quite aware things are happening, but we are putting things in place. There is a new customer service policy that was implemented and is being rolled out to the officers, all in a bid to minimise issues like these.”

He said the customer service initiative started a few months ago but change was a gradual process. He said it set an excellent standard, setting time-frames, deadlines and enforcing the need to communicate and give feedback to people who made reports.

PCA director David West, speaking during the consultation, said the PCA was an independent, civilian, oversight body that looked into police misconduct such as criminal conduct, civil conduct and serious disciplinary offences.

“Criminal conduct means the normal offences like misbehaviour in public office, larceny, theft, police-involved shootings, etc. Civil matters involve disobedience to orders, neglect of duty, discreditable conduct.

“So if that happens, you can make a complaint to us because it falls within our remit and we can then investigate your complaint.”

He said over the past ten years, Tobago had three police-involved shootings in 2019, 2021 and 2024, while Trinidad had 31 shootings with 48 victims.

From 2023 to 2024, the PCA investigated 131 civil and 60 criminal matters in Tobago.

There were 46 reports of discreditable conduct, 33 of neglect of duty, 33 of unlawful or unnecessary exercise of authority, 13 of disobedience to orders, five of corrupt practices and one falsehood or prevarication. The criminal matters were 20 for assault, 13 firearms offences, 14 “other” offences, six damage to property, four shootings and three larceny cases.

Scarborough and Shirvan Road Police Stations had the most complaints this year at 11 each, followed by Crown Point with six and the Tobago Division Task Force with three. Roxborough, Charlotteville and Moriah each had two reports.

West also encouraged Tobagonians to use the technology available to them more, rather than waiting to go into the PCA office. He said using technology, including the smartphone application, would mean less time to change their minds about making a report, and they could do it when the incident was fresh in their minds.