Dulalchan: We need 1100 more police

RYAN HAMILTON-DAVIS

THE heightened security measures put in place during Carnival could not be replicated during the year, because the Police Service simply does not have the manpower to do so.

This is according to acting Deputy Commissioner of Police Deodath Dulalchan yesterday at the weekly police press briefing, held at the Police Administration Building in Port of Spain.

Telling reporters about security arrangements for Carnival 2018, Dulalchan said the police expect to make a dent in crime overall, once they recruit about 1100 more officers.

According to the police manpower audit which was completed last year, there are over a thousand vacancies in key departments including the Organised Crime, Narcotics and Firearms Bureau, which has a 52 per cent deficit in manpower, the Homicide department which has a 15 per cent deficit and Special Branch, which has a 23 per cent shortage.

Dulalchan said, in his capacity as gold commander of Carnival operations, that over 5000 police officers will be deployed during Carnival, which accounts for at least 80 per cent of the Police Service. The remaining 20 per cent will be treating with crime and criminality outside of the Carnival villages.

While it has had the desired effect on crime during Carnival, Dulalchan said with the numbers that the service has at the moment, they would not be able to maintain that level of security nationwide throughout the year.

“One would imagine that in order for us to sustain this sort of policing, we would have to temporarily close down a lot of branches, sections and units and that is where our manpower (for Carnival operations) comes from.”

Dulalchan added that in order to gather the numbers for Carnival, police officers are restricted from taking leave, and those who were on leave would have to be called out to duty.

In 2013 there were 106 reports of offences being committed during Carnival, but in 2017 that number dwindled to only 16.