The National Transformation Alliance (NTA) has criticised the Police Service Commission (PSC) for lamenting that only eight per cent of the population believe the police are doing a good job in dealing with crime.
In a statement, the NTA said the public should “ignore the crocodile tears being spilled by the PSC with regard to runaway crime and the paltry eight per cent public trust and confidence rating the TTPS (TT Police Service) received in their own sanctioned survey.”
The party added that the PSC should accept some of the blame for crime, as it decided to replace NTA political leader Gary Griffith as Comissioner of Police (CoP) in 2021.
The NTA stated that a public trust and confidence survey done by the PSC before Griffith left office in August 2021 put public trust in the police at 59 per cent.
The party reiterated that it does not blame CoP Erla Harewood-Christopher for crime
That blame, the NTA continued, lay with people who thought Harewood-Christopher was the best person for the job.
The party also criticised the PSC’s call for more oversight of the police service to better assist the CoP.
In the report, Jones said to be able to appoint the most effective leader for the police service, the PSC must have a strategic role in establishing training requirements for members of the service.
She said this would further ensure that “the alignment of the Police Service’s promotion processes and criteria for promotion with those used by the commission for appointment to the top offices will enhance the commission’s ability to appoint the best person for the job.”
Jones said the PSC should also monitor the performance of assistant police commissioners, as they sometimes act as CoP or as deputy police commissioners.
The NTA said, “Instead of crying and looking for sympathy from the public whilst trying to increase their power, they should resign because they have failed the citizens of TT.”