(Trinidad Express) Chairman of the Police Service Commission (PSC) Prof Ramesh Deosaran has summoned an emergency meeting, scheduled for 10 a.m. tomorrow, to discuss and finalise the appraisal/evaluation of Police Commissioner Dr Dwayne Gibbs and two deputy commissioners, Jack Ewatski and Stephen Williams.
In an e-mail sent to all the commissioners, Deosaran stated: “The Police Service Commission is now compelled to call an emergency meeting…to discuss and finalise several urgent matters, most important of all is the appraisal/evaluation of the Commissioner of Police, Dr Gibbs” and the two deputy Commissioners.
“We must strive to maintain the credibility of this commission and earn public confidence in executing our constitutional mandate. This emergency meeting is to help prevent putting the reputation of the commission and its commissioners in undue jeopardy,” Deosaran stated.
He added that while the commission had been doing fairly well so far, “there is now, however, a heightened sense of urgency with regard to the proper finalisation of the appraisal report from the PSC Secretariat and the administrative conditions surrounding the delivery of this important report”.
The meeting comes as the performance and conduct of the Police Commissioner is being hotly debated. Canadians Gibbs and Ewatski were appointed in September 2010 without the support of the Opposition, which objected to foreigners holding top posts in the Police Service.
Only Tuesday, acting National Security Minister Herbert Volney stated Gibbs was doing a “good job” and criticism against the Commissioner was entirely “unjustified”.
The Prime Minister has commended Gibbs’ for the job he is doing. Government spokespersons have pointed out that the statistics show there has been a reduction in serious crime during his tenure (and the tenure of the People’s Partnership).
However, questions about his independence and ability to withstand pressures from the political administration have been called into question.
Those claiming he has been willing to please his political masters have cited his role in the unsuccessful arrest and detention of over 400 people under the Anti-Gang Act, as well as the detention and release of 17 men held in relation to the alleged assassination plot against the Prime Minister and three other ministers.
Gibbs gave support to the Prime Minister’s announcement of the plot, saying the plot was real and the information credible.
On the release of all those held under the Anti-Gang Act, Gibbs said it was a learning experience. Many have held him accountable for such statements.
On Tuesday, secretary of the Police Association Sgt Michael Seales stated: “Right now, the integrity of the Police Service is compromised, and if the commissioner does not have control of this situation, then we would want to say it’s time that we recognise that, and we say it’s time for him to go because we are seeing this now becoming a debacle.”
On the same day, lobby group Fixin’ T&T, in a release, stated it was not pleased with how Gibbs dealt with the issue of the alleged assassination plot.
“He (Gibbs) further compromised his independence and, by extension, that of the TTPS (Trinidad and Tobago Police Service) by choosing, in the face of little evidence, to align himself with the Government on the veracity of the plot to assassinate the Prime Minister and three ministers”.
Also commenting on Gibbs’ performance, Rowley said on Tuesday that while the People’s National Movement (PNM) had nothing against the commissioner, “We want a Commissioner of Police who can demonstrate that he’s in charge and can get the best out of our Police Service and who is not beholden to the political directorate where he can be perceived to be a tool of the political machination.”
Gibbs has not commented directly on the reports that a security evaluation report had challenged the validity and conclusions of the intelligence report which identified the assassination plot. Both reports would have been received by the Commissioner of Police.
Gibbs also had the misfortune of being out of the country when the State of Emergency was declared in August 2010.
The Government had given him permission to attend a conference in Brazil.
But the Police Commissioner’s absence drew adverse comment from many sectors of the community.
Gibbs, a Canadian, was hired at considerable expense in 2010 amid a spiralling crime wave and in accordance with the People’s Partnership’s election promise to curb crime.
