I have a question. Why are we hounding the Trinidad & Tobago police commissioner and trying to get rid of him?
I hold no brief for Dwayne Gibbs or any member of the top brass in the Trinidad & Tobago Police Service.
However I believe we Trinis are being emotional in the wholesale condemnation of Gibbs based on what I am seeing in the T&T media. It also seems to me that there might be an element of racism since of the three deputy commissioners, the only one under attack is Jack Ewatski.
By the way, both Gibbs and Ewatski are (white) Canadians and have a decent track record in the policing business in their respective jurisdictions in Canada.
It seems that we have conveniently forgotten the runaway crime under the predecessors of Gibbs and the inability of the police to do anything about it.
When the top candidate for the post - Stephen Williams (now one of the Deputy Commissioners) - was recommended for the post of Commissioner of Police under the Manning administration Mr Manning used his veto to stop the appointment. Williams was not fit for the job Manning concluded.
We seem to have amnesia as well when it comes to the Manning administration's attitude to crime and Manning's courtship of gang leaders and known criminals. Killings and kidnappings were collateral damage and Manning's hand picked commissioner was OK with that.
The Police Service Commission is currently doing a performance review of Gibbs and one of the criteria it is using to make the assessment is public confidence in the police. I trust it will use a scientific evaluation method in determining public perception rather that the PNM propaganda and the random anti-police media comments.
I would wager if a proper independent survey of the population is conducted we will find that public confidence in the police is higher today than it ever was under Gibbs' predecessor.
Let's be honest. It is unrealistic to believe that Gibbs or anyone for that matter could have miraculously rid the country of crime and criminals in the short time they have been in office, especially considering the high incidence of crime over the past decade.
The performance of the police during the State of Emergency demonstrated that the police can act when motivated to do so.
Why don't we give the police some support and credit for the work they have been doing, weed out the rogues and give the commissioner and his deputies a chance to get the job done?
Of course I raise that question with the assumption that we are indeed serious about fighting crime. I know Kamla is. And she has made it known whenever she speaks.
And she has said over and over again that the police have acted commendably, offering to even give them awards for their work.
I also know that the Prime Minister and the government are not happy with the state of affairs when it comes to fighting crime and are working to make things better.
The buck stops with the commissioner and if he is loafing on the job then we need to give him a one-way ticket back to Edmonton.
However, based on what I am reading in the media I don't think we are being fair to Gibbs and his deputies, including Stephen Williams.
I am of the firm view that we should not judge anyone unless we have walked a mile in that person's shoes.
Which one of us really understands the complexity of the assignment that Gibbs and his colleagues have undertaken?
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| T&T Police Commissioner Dwayne Gibbs |
However I believe we Trinis are being emotional in the wholesale condemnation of Gibbs based on what I am seeing in the T&T media. It also seems to me that there might be an element of racism since of the three deputy commissioners, the only one under attack is Jack Ewatski.
By the way, both Gibbs and Ewatski are (white) Canadians and have a decent track record in the policing business in their respective jurisdictions in Canada.
It seems that we have conveniently forgotten the runaway crime under the predecessors of Gibbs and the inability of the police to do anything about it.
When the top candidate for the post - Stephen Williams (now one of the Deputy Commissioners) - was recommended for the post of Commissioner of Police under the Manning administration Mr Manning used his veto to stop the appointment. Williams was not fit for the job Manning concluded.
We seem to have amnesia as well when it comes to the Manning administration's attitude to crime and Manning's courtship of gang leaders and known criminals. Killings and kidnappings were collateral damage and Manning's hand picked commissioner was OK with that.
The Police Service Commission is currently doing a performance review of Gibbs and one of the criteria it is using to make the assessment is public confidence in the police. I trust it will use a scientific evaluation method in determining public perception rather that the PNM propaganda and the random anti-police media comments.
I would wager if a proper independent survey of the population is conducted we will find that public confidence in the police is higher today than it ever was under Gibbs' predecessor.
Let's be honest. It is unrealistic to believe that Gibbs or anyone for that matter could have miraculously rid the country of crime and criminals in the short time they have been in office, especially considering the high incidence of crime over the past decade.
The performance of the police during the State of Emergency demonstrated that the police can act when motivated to do so.
Why don't we give the police some support and credit for the work they have been doing, weed out the rogues and give the commissioner and his deputies a chance to get the job done?
Of course I raise that question with the assumption that we are indeed serious about fighting crime. I know Kamla is. And she has made it known whenever she speaks.
And she has said over and over again that the police have acted commendably, offering to even give them awards for their work.
I also know that the Prime Minister and the government are not happy with the state of affairs when it comes to fighting crime and are working to make things better.
The buck stops with the commissioner and if he is loafing on the job then we need to give him a one-way ticket back to Edmonton.
However, based on what I am reading in the media I don't think we are being fair to Gibbs and his deputies, including Stephen Williams.
I am of the firm view that we should not judge anyone unless we have walked a mile in that person's shoes.
Which one of us really understands the complexity of the assignment that Gibbs and his colleagues have undertaken?
So please, let's support him and try to deal with the crime problem instead of hounding a good policeman who is trying his best to do what his predecessors didn't!
Jai Parasram - 18 January 2012
Jai Parasram - 18 January 2012
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