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  • 2 years ago
THE Trinidad and Tobago Police Service is extending GRACE to a number of communities across the country, and they're asking that you receive it with open arms. Maloney Gardens is the latest community to benefit from Project GRACE - the Gang Reduction And Community Empowerment initiative - a programme designed to strengthen and empower communities, and improve community-police relations. Rynessa Cutting has more.
Transcript
00:00 All right, we are from Project Grace TTPS.
00:04 Yes, it is the police knocking at your door.
00:07 And yes, they want to talk to you, but only to assist.
00:11 The TTPS is rolling out Project Grace, the gang reduction and community empowerment initiative.
00:17 And they need to hear directly from you, the community.
00:21 It's about finding out who have what skills and what resources within Maloney, so that
00:27 when we come up with the programs that the Maloney people will say, this is what we need.
00:31 We know we could tap in here first before we go and ask people outside to provide that
00:35 sort of assistance from us.
00:37 And they also and that's the asset mapping part.
00:39 And we have the community needs assessment part, where we're asking the community, tell
00:44 us how we can help you, what you want from Maloney.
00:47 The Grace project facilitates psychosocial support, educational and vocational training
00:53 and other services.
00:55 We can't promise anybody employment.
00:58 We have private sector stakeholders.
00:59 And I think even some ministries will tell you is that they can't promise employment.
01:03 What we are pushing within this is also self-employment and entrepreneurial development, because we
01:09 can't tell somebody because we assist you to get a certificate or get certified that
01:14 you will get a job.
01:15 But we can at least give you the tools or something to start that foundation.
01:20 But with self-employment, you have an opportunity now to see how you can make your own income.
01:25 TV6 joined members of the Grace project as they interfaced with the residents.
01:30 And from what accounts, the community is ready and willing to extend some grace as well.
01:35 I know that sometimes the relationship between the community and the police can be a bit
01:40 strained.
01:41 What advice you want to give members of your community where it concerns this Grace project?
01:46 To begin, where Grace project is concerned, to give the youth and them the advice is they
01:50 don't need to be aggressive to the police, because not all police is aggressive.
01:54 If the police ask a question, they have all right to ask.
01:58 You answer in a manly order whereby you wouldn't sound too disrespectful.
02:05 Don't be disrespectful.
02:06 Meantime, one single mother who lost two of her children to violence is urging parents
02:11 to enroll their children into police youth clubs.
02:14 You had two whole cars on the street.
02:17 Now you have two in the police youth club.
02:20 Tell me the difference that you're seeing the police youth club making in a children's
02:23 life.
02:24 It's a more, what word I should use?
02:29 It's a more kind of respect.
02:32 And, you know, it's a love.
02:36 They grew them up in a way to teach them the right things, other than the friends on the
02:42 block and the, you know, influence, the bad influence.
02:47 Head of the Northern Division Acting Commissioner, Zwin Subaru, says Maloney police have been
02:53 putting in a lot of work on the ground, particularly as it concerns community relations.
02:59 And the efforts are bearing fruit.
03:02 What are the indicators of that community buy-in?
03:04 You would say that you are seeing that would be to say that you know what the people in
03:07 Maloney are ready and willing to buy into this program.
03:10 Right.
03:11 People are back out at night, driving into the community, driving through the community.
03:16 And people are back out again on the street.
03:18 You have a lot of commerce taking place, people moving around freely.
03:24 Prior to that, I know the lighting was bad and all the different things.
03:27 These things have been adjusted and being addressed by the government.
03:33 And people are moving around.
03:35 So once you see people moving around, you know that there is some form of peace.
03:40 Fort Grace is being ruled out in 12 communities and is funded by the U.S. government to the
03:45 tune of 1.3 million U.S. dollars.
03:49 Ronessa Cutting, TV6 News.
03:51 [BLANK_AUDIO]
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