(Trinidad Guardian) Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley says he is willing to pay more to police officers to be part of what he described as “vetted units” reserved for officers of the highest integrity. Prime Minister Rowley holding nothing back said this proposal is necessary because “there are too many criminals in the police service.”
“I was in a meeting with the Minister of National Security and our experts and the American experts where the American government has undertaken and we have agreed to accept it, to create within our police service, what we call vetted units. Vetted units, meaning groups of special police officers, men and women who are vetted to ensure that their integrity is intact.”
Dr Rowley was speaking at a local government election meeting at Harris Promenade in San Fernando last night.
“When you’re going after the non-police criminals, they have their friends in the police service, to tip them off. And we have to have vetted units,” he explained. “I’m telling this country that we are prepared to pay extra to police officers in those vetted units if they will maintain their integrity and help us to root out the criminals in the police service, in the customs, in immigration and in the Parliament.”
The Prime Minister was quick to explain the Parliament reference saying, “So they want to talk crime, crime and criminals are not only on the corners, they’re inside the parliament, inside the parliament, so when they talk, it just boils my blood when I see them because I know them have questions to answer.”
But returning to the issue of crime, Dr Rowley said, “We” have to get rid of corrupt police officers because they put lives in danger.
“The ones that have integrity that you want, you got to protect them. You got to increase their numbers because we are now in a life and death struggle with the criminals in this country,” the Prime Minister said.
