Trinidad police service hires UK prosecutors

Police Commissioner Gary Griffith (second from right) at a media briefing held at Police Adminis-tration Building in Port of Spain.
Police Commissioner Gary Griffith (second from right) at a media briefing held at Police Adminis-tration Building in Port of Spain.

(Trinidad Express) Commissioner of Police Gary Griffith’s plans to restructure the Legal Department of the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service involves contracting a team of prosecutors from the United Kingdom, who specialize in fraud and fraud-related matters.

This team will assist the TTPS in investigating and prosecuting such matters and also in the area of training for the Legal Unit and police prosecutors.

Additionally, the police said in a statement on Tuesday, there has been the implementation of a new Monitoring and Compliance Unit which will improve overall operational efficiency, in keeping with international professional standards.

This Monitoring and Compliance Unit within the Legal Department will treat with:

• The numerous cases of police officers not attending court;

• To follow up on Freedom of Information Requests (FIO) and ensure the timely compliance with these requests; • To comprehensively trace, track and report on all court matters to ensure court orders are adhered to within the appropriate time frame;

• To effectively and efficiently manage over 180 outstanding matters regarding police promotions and sick leave;

• To review the matters of 300 police officers who are on suspension, alongside the Professional Standards Bureau, to have these officers either returned to work or sent home based on the outcomes of their outstanding matters.

Police said this initiative will optimize the efficiency and effectiveness of the TTPS toward promoting public trust and confidence.