Last chance for Erla?

THE three-month extension of the state of emergency (SoE) approved by Parliament on January 13 creates a situation in which the ongoing measure will be one of the last chances, if not the last chance, for top cop Erla Harewood-Christopher to prove her mettle as her tenure comes up for renewal by Cabinet.

The stakes for her, and the nation, couldn't be any higher.

Ms Harewood-Christopher’s prolonged tenure in the police service will expire on May 14. The emergency will continue until a few weeks before that, unless revoked earlier.

This means the conduct of the police commissioner will probably be at the forefront of Whitehall deliberations on whether to bestow a third and final service extension. Even if she gets that nod, there is no guarantee she will serve out the additional year should a new government come into power.

This is her moment.

Long before the SoE, there was, rightly, considerable scrutiny on the top cop. Once the measure was introduced, however, the pressure ratcheted up.

But things got off to a somewhat shaky start on December 31 when the commissioner presided over a 35-minute press conference at Knowsley, Port of Spain.

Without setting clear targets, she set the bar for herself incredibly high, speaking of “guaranteed” results. Perhaps she had learned too little and too much from her failure to meet goals outlined before a parliamentary committee not long after assuming the post.

Instead of being able to focus completely on the task at hand in the current SoE, on January 14, the top cop was forced to do damage control on behalf of her officers, highlighting their “bravery and professionalism” and noting they are in police stations open 24 hours.

This, a day after the Prime Minister said some cops were closing stations and turning off the lights at night out of fear of the criminals.

It was just the latest spanner in the works for Ms Harewood-Christopher, who has faced challenge after challenge since assuming the post in 2023. In that year, murders fell by five per cent. Few remember.

That small decrease was followed, in 2024, with an all-time high and with circumstances that forced government’s hand in calling the SoE.

How the top cop functions over the next three months will be key to her legacy. Will she allow 624 murders in one year to define her?

Or will she inspire by overcoming the many hurdles – such as the wilful disobedience of officers in relation to body cameras, uniforms and heeding the call to come out from leave – she faces?

In a general election year, a single misstep from her will place more pressure on the PNM not to renew her tenure, even with the well-documented tardiness of the PSC in finding top cops.