(Trinidad Guardian) The Government spends more than $1 billion annually on the Defence Force, comprising the Regiment, Coast Guard and the Air Guard unit, and it is simply not practical to have them on standby, idly waiting for something to happen, that may not happen, says Attorney General Anand Ramlogan.
“We are not Siberia or Afghanistan,” Ramlogan said in the Senate yesterday, noting that Caribbean Commonwealth countries were also putting legislation in place to have members of their defence forces work with the police in the fight against crime. Criminals, well-armed, dangerous and evil, Ramlogan added, have T&T citizens living in fear inside their barricaded houses and are eroding the soul of the nation.
Ramlogan made the observation during debate of the Miscellaneous Provisions (Defence and Police Complaints) Bill 2013 in the Senate. The bill seeks to give officers of the Defence Force the same powers, privileges and immunities enjoyed by police officers while actively engaged in helping the police fight crime. The AG said since the 1970s, members of the Regiment have been used in crime-fighting efforts outside the authority of legislation.
He cited the crime initiatives of the previous administration to back up his point, including Operation Anaconda and Operation Baghdad in Laventille and joint army/police efforts to curb gang-related crime. Ramlogan said no matter what anybody says, the Special Anti-Crime Unit of T&T (Sautt), set up under the last PNM administration, comprised soldiers fighting crime without legal authorisation.
“They knew Sautt was illegal and did nothing about it,” he charged. Ramlogan said it was time to revisit the Defence Act of 1962, which gave the Regiment the power to act only when the country is under attack or during a state of emergency. He said this resulted in a number of problems. For instance, the Coast Guard has to end a chase after a smuggler on the high seas when that person makes landfall.
Coast Guard officers feel they have no power to arrest, search or detain the smuggler on land, Ramlogan said. He asked what officers of the Air Guard Unit would do if they are fired upon while looking for a marijuana field or a kidnapper, since they are not precepted.
Ramlogan said it is unfair and discriminatory to have soldiers fighting crime side by side with the police and not have them also carry arms for protection. He said there is a manpower shortage in the Police Service and precepted soldiers will give it a necessary boost. It was also ludicrous to say soldiers are killing machines and will go on a rampage and kill people if they are given guns, the AG said.
Soldiers have been involved in several community organisations and in three states of emergency and there has not been the kind of abuse and complaints one would expect, he noted.
