SUNDAY 23 APRIL, 2017 – UWI TODAY
7
NATIONAL SECURITY
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 ormore, 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) DavidWest 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 toweed 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 PCAwants tomake 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.
Ending T&T’s
CRIME EPIDEMIC IS A JOB FOR ALL
B Y L I S A O W E N
Professor John Agard, Director of the Office of Research
Development and Knowledge Transfer, gave the keynote address.
Acting Police Commissioner Stephen Williams
Justice Gillian Lucky
“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.”
Lisa Owen is a communications specialist, writer and editor.
PHOTOS: ANEEL KARIM
