(Trinidad Guardian) With just three days into the new year the homicide toll continues unabated with the country recording two murders in two days. And already faced with mounting criticism, Police Commissioner Dwayne Gibbs and his Canadian cohort, Deputy Commission-er Jack Ewatski, have been branded non-performers by many detractors.
In a wide-ranging interview Ewatski revealed anti-crime initiatives for 2012 and maintained that despite public perception crime rates, including homicides, were decreasing. He also came out in strong defence of his charges saying no blame must be hurled at them but rather at the existing “systems and the processes” previously implemented within the Service that produced poor results.
Saying he was still very much impressed with the performance of the majority of police officers Ewatski, however, demanded more efficient tools and proper training to ultimately create a more effective Service. “We need to give police officers the policies and the support for them to do their job. The way we have been doing policing has not provided the results that are required; that are not meeting the expectations of the public. “And I don’t blame the officers. I think it’s the systems and the processes and I have said it many times that we need to change the way that we do things,” Ewatski emphasised. He said change was beginning to occur through the different transformation projects which would lead to improvement in the Service and ultimately the organisation would be “viewed” differently by the public.
Asked to specify the “systems and processes” Ewatski singled out the deployment method of officers. “How do we respond to calls for assistance from the public whether they be victims of crime or they have situations they need to have police intervention… how we respond in getting away with the traditional way of doing things….you have to come down to a police station for the most part, wait and hope to be served in a timely manner…we are providing a different approach to that with our new deployment model,” Ewatski cited. Customer service, he emphasised, was also key to transforming the Service and urged his officers to treat the public as valued customers. “When you speak to police officers and you say ‘customer service’ they say they don’t see the public as being customers when, really, we are here to serve the public.
“Some times our officers forget about that and so they don’t treat people in the way they should. I always tell my officers think about how would you like to be treated. “I tell my officers think of that person as your mother, or your sister or brother: how would you treat them and that’s how you should treat the public too,” Ewatski said.
While gaining public confidence still remained a work in progress the senior cop said while most police officers provided “good service” every once in a while “things happen.” “We know what impact this has on policing and it is very severe. We can’t lose the public’s confidence. “Where else can the public go if they can’t get good service from the Police Service?” Ewatski questioned. He also dismissed calls that murders increased immediately after the state of emergency (SoE) insisting this was just a “perception.”
He also maintained there was not an increase in gang related activity or homicides and also asserted that the “situation in east Port-of-Spain was fairly stabilised.” “Every once in a while things occur and we try to prevent those type of incidents from taking place but that is a very challenging environment for policing. “We have officers, we have different techniques that we employ in some of those areas and we can’t be everywhere at the same time and the criminals know that so we have to be strategic. “If somebody has the criminal intent they would find a way to commit that offence.”
Among the 2012 plans outlined by Gibbs are:
• Reduce crime and victimisation;
• Enhance capabilities in detecting crime via different means including the gathering and use of forensic evidence to prosecute criminals; and
• More emphasis on roadway safety.
Saying that every second day lives were lost on the nation’s roads Ewatski said the majority of such deaths could have easily been prevented.
“We need to really, as a society, be very serious about doing something because it’s nice to say that our homicide rates are going down. But when we look at our mortality rate and our rate of injuries as a result of road traffic accidents we need to be just as outraged about those numbers as we are with the homicide numbers.”
We have proven
ourselves
Only last week Attorney General Anand Ramlogan expressed disappointment at the spike in the murder rate with the lifting of the state of emergency. Ramlogan also mentioned an anxiety to hold discussions with Gibbs regarding his crime initiatives for 2012. Boldly defending the Commissioner and himself, Ewatski said they have both proven their worth to Trinidad and Tobago. “I think in the past we, the Commissioner and I have proven ourselves in terms of what our experience brings to the organisation; what our background brings to the organisation; and I think people do now realise that maybe we do know something about policing and we do have a strong background,” Ewatski said. About 15 months ago, Ewatski also commented that there were some people who refused to accept the fact that foreigners held the top rank in the country’s Police Service. Asked if he believed this view had changed Ewatski said, “I think there are still some people who hold that point of view. “I think that perhaps they are not as vocal about it as they were in the past.” “But I am not hearing this as much as I was hearing it so I’m hoping that people personally have gotten to know me and perhaps say, ‘Maybe this guy has something to bring to the table…maybe something of added value to assist in the struggle.”
Crime rates trending
downward
Admitting that the biggest challenge still remained lack of public confidence, Ewatski was adamant that all crimes including murders were on the decrease. “Crime rates are trending down. Our homicide rate for 2011 was down about 27 to 28 per cent when compared to last year and that’s very encouraging. “It is still very discouraging that 354 people have been murdered in this country and unacceptably high,” Ewatski said. He said some of the homicides stemmed from domestic violence, gang activity and ‘on the spot killings’ which were impossible to prevent.
