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T&T calls out the army
400 soldiers to help cops tackle rising crime
CMC
Saturday, February 26, 2011
TRINIDAD and Tobago Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has directed that Defence Force Reserves be called out to assist in the maintenance of law and order in the country.
The Trinidad Express newspaper reported Thursday that the decision to call out 400 reserves was taken during a meeting of the National Security Council on Tuesday. The newspaper said Persad-Bissessar told reporters that the decision had nothing to do with threats by police officers to stage "sick-out" action in protest of the five per cent increase in salaries offered by the chief personnel officer.
Addressing members of the media Tuesday after visiting police and soldiers who were part of the exercise, the prime minister said the decision to call out the reserves is to strengthen the visibility of law enforcement officers throughout major crime hot spots.
"... I gave the go-ahead for the reserves, all reserves of the Defence Force, to be called out. So that we intend to strengthen the troops on the ground throughout the country from today and carrying it forward. This initiative could not be more timely, given that we will have the festivities of carnival. So I thank the officers from the police service (and) from the regiment, who have agreed to have a collaborative effort, an intensified effort in the fight against crime. Visibility is one area which we discussed."
Meanwhile, acting Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of Anti-Crime Operations, Raymond Craig, admitted there was a high number of homicides in January. He said, however, that a recent initiative (CCTV Response Unit) undertaken in the East Port of Spain community had resulted in a reduction in criminal activities.
According to the Express, the deputy police chief promised that with the assistance of other law enforcement agencies, the police will relentlessly pursue the crime scourge plaguing the country. He said in east Port of Spain, a known crime hot spot, there had been a 30 per cent decrease in serious crimes.
In the meantime, Commanding Officer of the Trinidad and Tobago Regiment Col Anthony Phillips-Spencer reiterated the army's commitment to fighting crime, saying it "will lean forward" in lending whatever support is required by the other law enforcement agencies.
Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/...#ixzz1F5iip1y2