James Philbert officially hands over to Deputy Commissioner Stephen Williams, who will act as Commissioner of Police until the new CoP, Canadian Dwayne Gibbs takes up his duties next month.The Police Service Commission (PSC) asked Philbert last week to take all his outstanding leave and hand over his duties immediately to Williams. Philbert was due to retire on September 30.
Philbert, who will be 62 in December, joined the Police Service in 1964, and worked his through the ranks.
He was appointed in 2008 after the Manning administration refused to accept the recommendation to appoint Stephen Williams as Commissioner of Police although Williams was ranked as the number one candidate in the recruitment process.
On Sunday he spoke with the Trinidad Express and suggested that his stay in the police service may have been too long. And he said now that he is rewtiring he can now spend more time at home and "catch up" with his personal life.
Philbert told the paper he had neglected the needs of his family, particularly his wife, blaming it on "a passion and willingness" to serve.
The Express described him as one of the most active commissioners of police since the days of Randolph Burroughs.
It quoted one senior police officer as saying, "He was always out in the battle field with us, giving whatever support we needed. He even surprised many of us when he himself would stop and search suspects and charge traffic offenders...
"We have never really had an active commissioner as Philbert in a very long time. He was very good out in the field and we thank him for that, even though not every decision he made we were pleased with."
Philbert told the Express there is a bright future for the police service, which has a lot of hard working men and women.
"We have recorded a lot of successes," he said while admitting that the force is "still challenged with things like murders". However he said he knows police officers will work hard to deal with these problems.
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