‘A patrol officer must be one hell of a policeman or policewoman’– Acting Police Commissioner McDonald Jacob
By Sue-Ann Wayow
TRINIDAD and Tobago continues to have high incidence of organised crime and violence and unwanted gang activities.
This was the statement made by Acting Commissioner of Police McDonald Jacob as he spoke at the graduation ceremony for 110 men and women who will officially join the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS).
The ceremony was held at the Police Academy in St James on Wednesday.
Jacob told the graduands that there was a sense of urgency in having them join the TTPS at this time.
“Your very presence here today actually speaks to the TTPS for strategic planning, which is reaffirming our shared focus and values in an era of exponential change,” he said.
Their first task would be to patrol the streets and communities but he also emphasised that patrols alone would not stop crime but will assist.
Jacob said, “It is a key factor in moving forward with treating with the crime situation in this country.”
The Acting CoP stated that over the past two years many officers in the TTPS had steered away from this aspect of policing which in his opinion was the foundation of policing.
He said the Highway Patrol Unit was currently the most successful section in the TTPS as it related to confiscation of illegal items and arrests of suspects.
Jacob said the TTPS have recently implemented a systematic active patrol policy which was operationalised by officers, and a new concept called active and directive patrols which will be introduced to the new police officers by their supervisors.
Together with the active use and implementation of technology, such as body-worn cameras and digital ticketing devices, and several other communication devices, all which will be utilised by patrol officers, Jacob is expecting to see a dent in criminal activities.
“ Patrol officers in most instances are the ones arriving on the scene first, so you are often required to apply the necessary action in your police duties, and in what is required of you. So simply, in my view, a patrol officer must be one hell of a policeman or policewoman,” he said.
Minister of National Security Fitzgerald Hinds told graduands, “You are entering the arena of policing in a very violent society and a very violent world. And you are doing so at a very critical juncture in this nation’s history. Criminal elements have virtually declared war against peace and good order in our society. So you will be tested in many ways.”
He encouraged them to have courage, and fearlessness and discipline.
