By Sue-Ann Wayow
WITH her promise of a reduction of murders by June this year, Commissioner of Police (CoP) Erla Christopher, has the backing of National Security Minister Fitzgerald Hinds.
Hinds said Christopher was experienced, qualified and would have better knowledge of the policing situation to make that determination.
He was speaking with the media on Tuesday during a visit to the Maximum Security Prison, Golden Grove Road, Arouca.
Hinds said, “When I heard the Commissioner of Police say to the national community that we can expect some slowdown by the month of June, I saw that as an assertion of her justified confidence. She’s a very experienced police officer, very qualified, and now as Commissioner of Police, with her hands on the wheel, directing it, she will know what her strengths and what the circumstances are.
“She will know better than all of us what she is doing, and I have some ideas of what they are doing since I have had access to the police’s strategic plan and operational plans from time to time.”
The minister added, “I am really pleased that the Commissioner is in the place where she can assert publicly that level of confidence.”
He said the recent Carnival activities that saw many police officers on active duty covered events with a blanket of security.
“I can understand why the Commissioner of Police will feel that level of confidence that she feels. She will know the level of training that her officers are undergoing. She will know their level of commitment to standing up and pushing back on criminals in the society. So, in conclusion, all I can say is that I really admire her leadership, and I admire her utterance of confidence, I think for good reason.”
Last week, before a Joint Select Committee, Christopher made the promise that by June, citizens would see a reduction in violent crimes in the short term and further reduction by December this year in the longer term.
While some were appreciative of that timeline, others were skeptical.
Hinds also said that he was pleased with the development of new techniques by the Forensic Science Centre in St. James and that police were catching more criminals in the act.
He also commended the Commissioner for launching an investigation into the allegations of human trafficking involving public officials.
