By Prior Beharry
PRIME Minister Dr Rowley says he will give Police Commissioner Erla Harewood-Christopher his full support.
Speaking at Whitehall on Tuesday, Dr Rowley said he did not call the press conference to fire the top cop or Minister of National Security Fitzgerald Hinds who was also present along with Minister of Energy and Minister in the Office of Prime Minister Stuart Young.
He said he was not not going to criticise Harewood-Christopher in public but he was not in support of incompetence. He said Harewood-Christopher’s contract as police commissioner ends in May and he has had certain conversions with the Police Service Commission, but stopped short to say that her contract was not going to be renewed.
Dr Rowley said, “We have taken the position that while you (police commissioner) are in post carrying out the duty while you’re there, you can count on the full support of the government until that is changed because it makes no sense to put somebody there and then turn around and destroy their morale and undermine them. If it is that the person has to be removed at the end of their assessment, fine.”
Dr Rowley referenced a 2017 report from the Police Manpower Audit Committee chaired by Professor Ramesh Deosaran, which recommended the creation of a police inspectorate to oversee operations, necessitating constitutional changes and a special majority.
Dr Rowley said he has not received the Opposition’s support with this report saying that it was sent before a Joint Select Committee of Parliament.
About, the police inspectorate, he said, “None of that could happen without the Parliament… the 41 people who sit inside that House have to interfere with the Constitution to create any such thing because the police service is rooted in the Constitution.”
Dr Rowley noted that one of its members of the audit report committee was Harewood-Christopher.
He shared data from the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service Department of Crime and Problem Analysis (CAPA), revealing varying results in meeting murder reduction targets over the years:
- In 2018, there was a target of a 5% reduction, with a 4.4 % increase;
- In 2019, with a 10% target, there was a 4.5 % increase;
- Amid the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, the target was a 10 % decrease, leading to a substantial 26 % decrease;
- In 2021, a 5% decrease was the target, but there was a 12.5 %increase;
- In 2022 under MacDonald Jacob there was a 5% target with a 34% increase; and
- Dr Rowley compared these figures with Harewood-Christopher’s tenure, citing a target of 20% with a 4.8 % decrease in murders.
Regarding talks with Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar on crime, Dr Rowley said that he never refused a meeting and may be part of the Government’s team at one point in time but not now.
He said he appointed a team for the crime talks headed by Attorney General Reginald Armour and the UNC refused to take part.
Dr Rowley also said the government was going to take legislation to the Parliament to removal parliamentary approvals for acting appointments for police commissioner and the four posts of deputy commissioners of police.
