National Security Minister Brig. John Sandy announced last Thursday that the unit, which has been operating illegally since 2003, will be closed on January 31 and all local personnel will return to the regular police service. The highly-paid personnel from the UK will not be retained, Sandy told the media.
There are about 50 UK officers in the elite police squad receiving between $100,000 and $150,000 a month. In addition they get allowances for vehicles, accommodation, support staff and entertainment.
The local staff - about 686 officers - get a $5,000 monthly allowance.
According to the tabulation by the Guardian, disbanding the unit would give the government an extra $11 million a month.
The head of the Police Association, Sgt. Anand Ramesar, is suggesting that government use the savings to pay police officers who have refused the government's five per cent wage offer.
He told the Guardian it could "go a long way in treating with our issues connected to salary negotiations.”
Ramesar said the Association has always been against the high salaries for SAUTT officers, which he said was never justified. The Kamla Persad-Bissesssar government has given all police officers a tax-free allowance of $1,000 a month.
The Manning government created SAUTT in 2003 shortly after taking office and in that time has spent nearly $1 billion on salaries alone.
The current government based its decision to shut down the elite force on the fact that despite the expenditure the force has not made any significant dent on crime. Sandy told reporters another main reason for closing it is that it was illegal and that it was seen as a parallel organisation to the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service.
The Opposition has called the move a “monstrous mistake.”
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