(An extract from Foreign Direct Investment 2018)
The objective is to protect and preserve
the nation's assets; its people, its property, its peace, under conditions of depleted
financial resources with less dedicated and approved budgetary allocation of
public expenditure. Resource Preservation comprised expenditure funds totaling 13.21% of the nation’s
total expenditure, as reported by the office of the Auditor General 2016 and 12.02% in the 2017 revised estimates,
while estimating 11.1%
down by 8.77% for 2018, as published by the
Ministry of Finance. These funds are to enact the policies of the Ministry of National Security; the
Defence Forces, its arms, divisions and initiatives, along with the crime deterrence
strategies of the Police Service,
whose expenditure is independently control. Noting that, the non-executive
President of the nation is the Commander and Chief of the Defence Forces,
further subdivided into the Regiment, the Coast Guard and Air Guard, with reserves
and other specialty units.
The objective is to protect and preserve
the nation's assets; its people, its property, its peace, under conditions of depleted
financial resources with less dedicated and approved budgetary allocation of
public expenditure. Resource Preservation comprised expenditure funds totaling 13.21% of the nation’s
total expenditure, as reported by the office of the Auditor General 2016 and 12.02% in the 2017 revised estimates,
while estimating 11.1%
down by 8.77% for 2018, as published by the
Ministry of Finance. These funds are to enact the policies of the Ministry of National Security; the
Defence Forces, its arms, divisions and initiatives, along with the crime deterrence
strategies of the Police Service,
whose expenditure is independently control. Noting that, the non-executive
President of the nation is the Commander and Chief of the Defence Forces,
further subdivided into the Regiment, the Coast Guard and Air Guard, with reserves
and other specialty units.
News from the previous period
The Police Service, continued with an
acting commissioner, worked hard on its public image and to win and maintain
the citizenry trust, with regular media briefings, public safety tip lines and consistent
updates on current investigations. Noting that, the arrest of officers
allegedly engaged in criminal activity seemed to have had the greatest effect
on the service's image. The Regiment or Army continued to participate in joint
Army Police patrols in high crime areas or hotspots. The Coast Guard carried
out numerous stop and search exercises with the equipment presently in service,
resulting in seizures and arrest of illegal drugs and traffickers. And the Air
Guard continued to assist the other divisions from above by engaging in support
missions.
The Prison Service, with over 2500 officers
of various ranks and responsibilities, manages several detention facilities
throughout the nation. The Fire Service, with over 62 firefighters specially
trained, as Paramedics and 24 ambulances are strategically located throughout four divisions nationwide, and
utilizes a
990-emergency call system. Other areas and initiatives
such as; Criminal
Injuries Compensation Board, Strategic Services Agency, Penal Reform and
Transformation Secretariat, Crime Stoppers T&T Limited, National Drug
Council, Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management (ODPM), National
HIV/Aids Agency (INHAA), Office of Law Enforcement Policy, Transit Police Unit,
Morvant-Laventille Initiative, Anti-Money Laundering of Terrorism Compliance
Unit, Information and Communication Technology Unit, Cyber Security Unit, National
Crime Prevention Programme, etc., all have specific
public service mandates.
Within this current period
The Police Service, with an estimated 38.09% of the total
Resource Preservation funding for 2018, will absorb budgetary control of the Training Academy and
funds previously allocated to Community Comfort Patrol (CCP) into its regular
service patrols. With no settlement in sight on and about the process of
selecting and ultimately, appointing a permanent commissioner with the comforts
and powers of tenure, which issues seem to fall squarely in the lap of
lawmakers, parliamentarians, the Police Service 6500 officers must continue its
primary mission to protect and serve, employ crime deterrence strategies, seeking
persons of interest and gathering evidence for presentation to the courts.
The Ministry of National Security, with its
estimated 61.91% of
the total Resource Preservation funding for 2018, executes the Defence Forces’ policies
utilizing its subdivisions. The Regiment will continue its joint patrols with
the Police in crime hotspots and during periods of heightened public activities, such
as during Christmas and Carnival. The Coast Guard will deploy its newly
acquired vessels both for training exercises and interdiction in the protection
of the nation’s ocean borders. The Air Guard, in need of more resources both
equipment and trained officers, will continue to assist in search and rescue
activities and crime fighting, as required.
Other areas and initiatives in need of
specific attention are the Forensic Science Centre and a DNA database to
strengthen detection and prosecutions, while offering clarity to the policy of
paying $1,000,000 to officers’ estate “killed in the line of duty”. The Prison
Service, with 12.11%
of the total Resource Preservation budget for 2018, places great emphasis on rehabilitation, via
talent training and life coping skills. The Fire Service, with 9.85% of the total
Resource Preservation budget for 2018, also in need of modern equipment must focus on recruitment
and training.
Looking Forward
Many experts agree that the bottleneck, in achieving
crime reduction, resides in the justice system and that no additional funds allocated
to either the Ministry of National Security or the Police Service can help. Such
judicial experts call for speedy disposal of violent cases, employing video
conferencing for preliminary inquiries and similar strategies, resulting in
minimum time spent in remand, with less exposure to wrong influences, allowing for
the falsely accused to recover a productive law-abiding life, while starting
the guilty person's rehabilitation.
Rationale
T.A.J & Associates Company Limiteduses this occasion to comment on topics that have been covered, both academically
and by the mainstream media, to add its opinion and point out investment
opportunity, not to invoke any social action.
