Top cop's mixed recommendation

COMMISSIONER of Police Allister Guevarro on July 17, privately petitioned Cabinet for the declaration of a state of emergency (SoE), based on what he later publicly described as “a co-ordinated and highly dangerous criminal network” operating within prisons, which was “actively mobilising resources and orchestrating targeted attacks against senior officials.”

More than three months, and one extension later, the top cop this week declared the initial threat “decisively addressed.” Yet, he nonetheless now recommends that Parliament today, October 31, extend the SoE, which deprives citizens of key rights, for a further three months.

His reasons? He won’t say.

“I submitted a classified report to the National Security Council, which includes operational assessments and recommendations,” Mr Guevarro said on October 29.

“The contents of that report are not for public disclosure, given the sensitivity of the material.” He added, “The decision to extend the state of emergency falls squarely within the remit of Parliament.”

If you are confused by all of this, we don’t blame you. Having foisted the SoE on the nation, Mr Guevarro now appears to have washed his hands of the need to explain the reasons for another extension.

The top cop’s baffling manoeuvres are at odds not only with his position in July, but also with the transparency he promised to bring to the post.

They are notably consistent with the line recently taken by Homeland Security Minister Roger Alexander in Parliament over the need not to disclose matters that touch upon national security.

Mr Guevarro may well have excellent reasons for not wishing to go into the confidential report he has freely shared with Cabinet officials. However, the problem is that the SoE cannot be extended for rationales that don’t clearly relate to the original, specific grounds that prompted it.

Muddying the waters further is Mr Guevarro’s inappropriate response to questions about whether the extension might have something to do with regional tensions involving Venezuela and the US.

“I will respectfully steer clear of that, as my role is to protect and serve the people of TT, not Caracas,” he said.

But the role of the top cop is to manage the police service, whose officers are tasked with maintenance of law and order, the prevention and detection of crime and the prosecution of offenders – all within these islands and regardless of nationalities involved.

It’s astonishing that Mr Guevarro this week was not able to say that.

It is baffling why he now chooses to hide behind the fig leaf of parliamentary procedure in relation to his own measure.