 Generally, when people think about alleviating crime and violence in Trinidad and Tobago they place full responsibility on the Police Service.
But a group of social sciences and criminology experts at a recent Roundtable Power Forum on Policing says that thinking has to change.
They contend that the violence plaguing the nation can only be addressed if the various sectors, including the general public, collaborate to address the root causes of crime. Social science techniques and research also have a crucial role to play in modern policing.
Hosted at the Learning Resource Centre at The UWI St. Augustine Campus, the discussion was part of the 3rd Biennial Department of Behavioural Sciences Postgraduate Research Conference, an event focusing on the importance of interdisciplinary social science research in the Caribbean.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), a country experiencing homicide rates in excess of 10 murders per 100,000 inhabitants is defined as an area of violence epidemics.
“This places the Americas, including Trinidad and Tobago, as the most violent region in the world,” said Ms. Elizabeth Solomon, Visiting Research Fellow from the Institute of International Relations. She added that Latin America and the Caribbean accounted for one-third of the world’s homicides, yet fewer than 10% of its population.
Ms. Solomon said that while prevention plays a vital role in stemming violence there must also be a comprehensive strategy and framework for dealing with unconventional (non-war) conflicts and their ensuing violence:
“Reactionary and aggressive law enforcement approaches have not been successful. The threat of bringing back hangings is not an appropriate response and it will not work.”
Commissioner of Police (Ag.) Stephen Williams confirmed that Trinidad and Tobago has been experiencing a violence epidemic for “many, many years” with the murder rate reaching an all-time high of 547 in 2008. However, he said that a recent change in the policing model from reactionary to proactive “where we are out there to serve the public before they call for service” has caused crime statistics to trend downwards.
The CoP advised that the occurrence of serious crimes, those that cause the greatest harm and carry a penalty of five years or more, has been slashed in half since peaking at 22,162 in 2009, to 11,493 in 2016. Whereas the violent crimes statistics – murders, shootings, woundings, rape, kidnappings, and robberies – was 4,215 in 2015 and 4,294 in 2016, the lowest results in 18 years.
He credited the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service’s (TTPS) new, people-centred perspective, coupled with its adoption of an “evidence-based policing” approach and the hard work of police officers for these significant successes, adding that the TTPS seeks to incorporate social science research and experiments to guide its policing efforts.
The roundtable panel, which included Director of the Police Complaints Authority (PCA) David West and Justice Gillian Lucky, agreed that public safety is a shared responsibility which must be borne by Government, law enforcement agencies, the private sector, the public and the independent media.
“The key to success is collaboration... to address the situation in our country. The Police Service cannot do it alone. We need everyone, everybody to be on board,” said CoP Williams. He emphasised the importance of law-abiding citizens doing their part to address the violence epidemic, “You can’t stand on the side and expect things to happen for you. And many times you don’t just stand on the side. You actively contribute through some negligent kinds of action.”
Ms. Solomon said that an integrated security and social sciences approach based on interdisciplinary research that addresses social inequality and impunity is the only appropriate response to addressing unconventional conflicts.
“Violence is not a chronic problem. It can be solved,” she said.
Justice Lucky recommended a change in the traditional approach to recruitment and training, saying that police officers should not speak of themselves as having “powers” but as performing functions: “Because when they speak about their functions it will change and transform the whole way the public embraces them. My function is to protect and serve with pride. It is not a power, it is a function.”
The former head of the PCA said she was confident that the TTPS could be fixed and transformed to be “better, stronger and more efficient”. As part of that metamorphosis, she suggested the service adopt its own watchwords: “Disciplined, Productive and Reliable.”
David West spoke of the need for effective communication, mutual respect and trust in the relationship between the PCA and the TTPS as the two agencies work together to weed out rogue elements within the police service.
“As the public must trust the Police, the Police must trust us. Police officers who work within the law have nothing to fear as the PCA wants to make the TTPS great again and to restore public confidence which is being threatened,” he said.
Titled “The Importance of Interdisciplinary Research in the Caribbean: Alleviating Inequalities/Integrating Approaches,” the Conference was held from March 22 to 23 and included sessions on security (regional and local), gender and sexuality, community development, diplomacy and research.
Lisa Owen is a communications specialist, writer and editor. |
