PM optimistic that new CoP will will make a difference in fighting crime

Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar is optimistic that the new Commissioner of Police (CoP) Dwayne Gibbs will make a difference in curbing crime in Trinidad and Tobago.

"I look forward for the best. I am very hopeful and quite convinced that we will see change given the new leadership," Persad-Bissessar told reporters Tuesday.

Gibbs, who is from Edmonton, Canada, is expected to take up his assignment later this month. One of the three Deputy Commissioners, Jack Ewatski, is also a Canadian.

The two other deputies are nationals of Trinidad and Tobago - Stephen Williams and Maurice Piggott.

Persad-Bissessar feels the foreign expertise that Gibbs and Ewatski will bring will be very helpful in fighting crime, and noted that when that's matched with "our local expertise", there will be a difference.

"I think change in the service will go a long way. I am hopeful and convinced we will see change," Persad-Bissessar said.

She pledged to give the police all the resources to do its job.