TTPS: Our unsung heroes

THE EDITOR: The time has come for citizens from every part of this land to give the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) the respect and appreciation it deserves.

The constant measuring of its success rate by way of the murder rate is not only unfair and demoralising to the police, but subtracts from the plethora of positive stories and remarkable achievements by the officers and the service at large.

On Monday, the TTPS posted on its Facebook page a video captioned, “Police Foil Bandit’s Escape after Robbery at Yiahao Chinese Restaurant on Sunday 7th January, 2018,” which showcased policing at its finest.

In merely an hour, the video attracted 29 thousand views and received roughly two thousand likes and shares, respectively.

Contrariwise to what many may lead us to believe, this timely response, keenness to protect and service and the level of professionalism exuded, is quite often the norm to which many citizens can attest.

The time has come to give honour where and when it is due.

I join in the chorus of praise to the officers of Northern Division Task Force, Area Central, who, within minutes were on the scene after receiving a call of distress from a victim of a robbery at the restaurant and were able to foil the escape of the five perpetrators.

I pray that the officers and their colleagues endeavour to maintain such valour, passion and commitment to duty.

Nevertheless, we as citizens must neither negate nor forget the efforts and progress made by the TTPS.

Last year, we saw a noteworthy amount of murders being solved and offenders being brought before the court. We saw the lowest recorded road fatalities in 22 years. We saw the highest amount of firearms seized in the nation’s history. We saw every single kidnapping solved. We saw several successes coming out of the IATF Hearts and Minds Programme in Port-of-Spain and environs and a host of great news coming out of the interventions made in the Enterprise community. We saw community policing steadfastly reaching out and police interactions significantly improved by way of station council and town meetings. We saw a TTPS that worked.

Instead of bashing and discouraging our officers, let 2018 be the year that we make concerted, genuine efforts to partner with them to stem the scourge of violence and crime in our country.

It is not enough to have your voice heard through the comfort of the screen of your phone or computer. While this is good, we must move beyond this. It is going to take all of us, young and younger, to meet the TTPS halfway through our actions, information and co-operation.

We must not allow ourselves to ever forget that these are our mothers and fathers, uncles and aunts, brothers and sisters, our neighbours, our friends, our police officers. And, they are our heroes!

Let’s sing their praises and support them in this fight against crime.

Ryan Nanton via e-mail