The Head of the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service Social and Welfare Association does not believe that T&T is evolved enough to allow the recruitment of Venezuelan nationals into the TTPS.
However, ASP Gideon Dickson said the suggestion has some merit, but may not be necessary right now.
The suggestion was made by Fr Eric Thompson, while speaking at an interfaith service held by the TTPS at the St Thomas Anglican Church in Chaguanas to celebrate the 69th anniversary of the Celebration of Women in the Police Service.
Fr Thompson suggested the TTPS ought to employ Venezuelan nationals, especially women, to help treat with rising crime.
Dickson, in an Express interview, said: “The suggestion is noted and it’s not strange to have such policies adopted in First World countries where there are minority groups posing challenges to law enforcement and the desire is to not have the group marginalised, whilst your communication strategies will incorporate the minority group to ensure successful community engagement.
“However, as of right now, our society has not evolved to such status, and we are cosmopolitan in nature. Spanish remains unofficially our second language and our hiring practices are based on what is constructed in the law and every ethnicity and gender (inclusive of those with Spanish ancestry) has a legitimate opportunity to be recruited,” he said.
“Further to this, we are not aware that there is sufficient data to suggest that the (migrants) are a minority group and posing significant challenges to law enforcement because of the communication barriers. Additionally, you will be surprised to know how many police officers of either gender have been exposed to higher learning with courses in conversational Spanish for law enforcement, and can both understand and communicate in the language.
“Additionally, our Service continually engages with stakeholders who are specialists in areas where our officers are not equipped. We have made significant strides in this area,” Dickson added.
He said the association has already prepared its 2020-2022 salary proposal for submission to the Chief Personnel Officer, in which they are advocating for officers with this certified language skill set to be recipients of an additional allowance.
“Consequently, having examined the statement by the author and the context it was given in keeping with the celebration of our women police achieving a 69-year milestone and in keeping with the theme of that event ‘Striking a Balance’ we are not seeing the call as necessary or meaningful at this stage in our country’s history,” Dickson said.