Stephen Williams promises a proactive police service under his watch

Stephen Williams: "2012 is not worse than 2011"

Deputy Police Commissioner Stephen Williams has said crime is not as bad as people think. And he said the statistics show that 2011 was worse than 2012.

In a speech to the Greater Tunapuna Chamber of Industry and Commerce Friday, the man who takes over as acting Police Commissioner next week said one of his priorities is to change the public perception that crime is spiralling out of control.

It was his first public pronouncement since the resignations of Dwayne Gibbs and fellow Canadian Jack Ewatski from their posts of Police Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner respectively. Williams takes charge of the police service on Tuesday.

Williams made it clear that there are no overnight remedies to fix the crime problem and noted that crime is not measured by the murder rate. He blamed media for the hype and for creating the perception of runaway crime. "2012 is not worse than 2011," he stated. "In future, I hope statements like 'spiralling out of control' will not be made," Williams said.

The police chief said he will be taking the Police Service into the future with better detection and prevention, using what he called a "proactive policing model", which includes high police visibility through increased patrols, as opposed to officers staying at a station unless called to a crime scene.

Williams also noted that there are only small numbers of crime "hotspots" across the country. He acknowledged a poor detection rate and said it is largely due to a lack of trust by the public. He pledged to changed that and also use science to play a bigger role in solving crime.

"The Trinidad and Tobago Police Service needs to embrace new developments in policing," Williams said. "One such development is evidence-based policing, a concept which focuses on obtaining scientific evidence about what works best."