National Security Minister Fitzgerald Hinds has come under fire for his recent statement, that 40 per cent of national security bodies do all the work.
Hinds said: “I think 40 per cent of us do all the work. If I could mobilise 100 per cent of the Police Service, the Defence Force, the Customs, the Immigration Division, the Fire Service, the Prison Service. If I could only inspire all of us to get up and come alive to the crisis that faces the people who need our protection and get on the job, we would have succeeded. The criminals would find no space.”
However, the President of the Police Service Social and Welfare Association (PSSWA) Insp Gideon Dickson is not happy with the statement and is calling on Hinds to retract the comment, as he deems it demoralising.
Dickson, in an interview with GML, said “The statement was unwarranted. We feel that it has a demoralising effect, especially on police officers.
“We cannot see the need to broad-brush the entire Ministry of National Security. Where did that data come from? It might be correct.
He added, “When you look at our data in relation to how many officers have been impacted by COVID-19, you would see even as we operated with 40 per cent of our capacity, we achieved 100 per cent performance.”
Dickson said, “It is unfair, reckless and we are calling on the Minister to retract that statement especially as it relates to police officers. He did not single out police officers, but law enforcement.”
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