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02:23 Welcome to Beyond the Tape. It is Tuesday the 21st of May. My name is Whitney Husbands.
02:28 Now, as we see again, more and more criminal activities taking place throughout Trinidad and Tobago.
02:35 I ask the question, especially to our parents of Trinidad and Tobago,
02:39 whose responsibility it is to raise our children and the importance of the foundation that we must lay for our children throughout Trinidad and Tobago.
02:49 I saw a parent responding to a situation that we saw over the weekend with Kunupia, a young man, stealing a vehicle.
03:00 And of course, the officers were able to stop him and not in the way that she liked, which was a life was taken.
03:09 And at the end of the day, any life that is taken from anyone is still precious, regardless of what they may do or may not do.
03:18 But in this case, we are seeing that the criminals are the ones who seem to be getting away basically with murder.
03:26 And the mother was stating that they didn't need to kill her son. What was the reason for killing her son?
03:33 They were able to stop him. They could have get him out of the vehicle. And also, he didn't have a gun.
03:40 The usual cry we usually hear most of the times. But when are we going to take responsibility for our actions when we raise our children?
03:48 Because we are not the ones responsible, the strangers, the citizens, the TTPs, the lawyers, the government, but we as parents.
03:57 Why are you just seeing it as you can give him five, ten, fifteen years? I'm not saying why are you doing this?
04:03 A crime is still a crime. And of course, we continue the conversation right here on Beyond the Tape.
04:08 And for my guest this evening, I'd like to welcome Inspector Ragbir of the Rio Claro Police Station.
04:14 And he is definitely a man who has been on the ground and able to connect with a lot of citizens throughout Trinidad and Tobago.
04:21 And he has a major interest in seeing Trinidad and Tobago be a better place. We'd like to welcome you, Inspector. And good evening.
04:30 A pleasant good afternoon to you, Whitney, and to my fellow citizens of Trinidad and Tobago.
04:35 I am Rishi Ragbir, Police Inspector at the Eastern Division. It is a pleasure to be here with you tonight.
04:41 Yes. So how is your district, how is your division going? I know you're very hands-on, as I mentioned before.
04:46 So once again, Eastern Division, with a team of vibrant and effective officers under the leadership of Senior Superintendent Khan,
04:56 we at Eastern have seen a reduction in crime by 30%. Together, we enjoy the highest detection rate of crime throughout the country at 40%.
05:07 This in Eastern Division was achieved by, as I said, the leadership and the numerous anti-crime operations conducted.
05:15 But most of all, our success is hinged on our community initiatives.
05:21 Our Choro D'9 stations in Eastern Division, our community initiatives, you know, is critical for success, especially the youth clubs.
05:31 Each station has a youth club, and with the exception of Valencia, who has two youth clubs.
05:37 Yes, and that is where our target, you talk about parents, and we also lent support to the parents by way of the Police Youth Club in Eastern Division.
05:46 Of course. So that means the parents are able to come to the youth club and, of course, inform the officers of their concerns and ways in which you can assist them at home,
05:55 not just in the community itself, but in their own homes. Right, and exactly.
06:01 So at all youth clubs, we target academics, sports, culture, and apart from the youth clubs, we also promote school visits.
06:12 So when you say school visits, is it that you'll randomly show up to schools to find out what's going on within the schools?
06:18 So at times we do random checks, but what we try to do, we make, keep that relationship between the school staff and the police open, and we would sometimes plan visits.
06:28 So even as up to this morning, my officers were at a primary school in the Rio Claro area, and they were doing a career day with the officers and with the students.
06:39 So what was reception like when it comes to seeing the children engaging and interacting with the officers? Were they excited? Did they embrace it? Did they say, "Listen, I want to be an officer like you"?
06:51 Always. It is always that we get that, especially with the younger children. The older ones in secondary schools, when we start to discuss the avenues within the police service,
07:00 so when we discuss what is available to them in the police service, we see that a lot of the teenagers now have an interest. They show that keen interest in becoming a member of the police service.
07:14 Of course. So a great role model that we're seeing within the communities, and of course, the uniform that supports a whole height standard when it comes to the TTPS.
07:22 We'll discuss that and more, of course, we will take your calls, but right now let's take a look at today's headlines.
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07:43 Enough is enough. Enough is enough. Stand up free.
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08:11 And I also saw the send off of your fellow comrade, Corporal Mayers, who was later arrested. I knew that the turnout was massive and the TTPS lost someone who was highly respected within the service.
08:26 Yes, that is so, and it is sad to see how, as you said earlier, any life loss is a loss to Trinidad and Tobago, and notwithstanding the manner in which he lost his life, you know, and it just goes to show that no place is safe unless we as a community work together, meaning the police and the community work together to make the place safe.
08:50 I see one more, of course, the officers who come on the show always ask and try for the citizens to understand the importance of us, including myself, working hand in hand with the TTPS to try to find a way to get some sort of control.
09:07 Now, we also saw where there was a vigil for Anisha, and Anisha is still missing. They are not able to find her just yet up to this time, and of course, the prayers continue to go out to the family and friends and loved ones.
09:23 She was abducted on Sunday morning, and as I mentioned before, up to this time, she is still missing. And this is just a sad state to see a young, vibrant individual who is clearly there hardworking and trying to be a law-abiding citizen was just snatched away from her loved ones and friends and the community as well, because they came out to show their support and prayers for her.
09:50 Now, also, we pay attention, a lot of shootings took place, four persons shot in the Bagaloo Street area, also in Enterprise, a 31-year-old deceased, and also in Dow Village, South Oro Pooch, a man was found shot, beaten, and throat slit at his home on Monday the 20th.
10:13 And when we hear these stories again, sometimes I still can't believe this is my country that I'm living in, and knowing that officers have to face this, and then we want justice. Persons want justice. We are craving justice.
10:29 So, earlier I quoted statistics, and statistics means nothing to someone when it comes to crime. It's the fear that is associated with crime that is what matters. We see this is happening. However, persons within the community would have information.
10:47 They have information that they can share, that can help the police solve some of these crimes. But with all that information being shared, sometimes we are in a position that we are not able to solve the crimes.
11:04 And this is why I would urge the community, members of the public, we always hear the line, "See something, see something." You know, call the 800-500 numbers, tips, call the numbers, share the information with the police, because only with the support of the community, support of the members of the community, the public, we can get this done.
11:27 Let me ask you this, especially with regards to your community, and the detection rate clearly is one where you are able to somewhat be boastful of because you are able to detain individuals who commit crimes in your district. Is it because of the relationship you have with the members of the community that assist you in a major way to detain individuals?
11:47 Yes. I would say yes. Because within my region, the region of East St. Evision, we have several, each station district has several community watch groups. Police officers are members of these groups. They are on WhatsApp, so information is shared real time.
12:07 We also have what we call police walkabouts. So we walkabout within the community, and that is a way to bridge the gap between the police and the community. So every station in East St. Evision conducts at least two walkabouts in different regions per month.
12:21 So the members of the community, anything they see strange, immediately they will call and say, "Officer Ragbir, listen, I just saw an individual in my area, and this is, I'm uncomfortable."
12:34 So what they do, they share it on the WhatsApp groups. So it's shared, so sometimes another person, another member of the community would say, "That person or that figure came to me or so."
12:46 So they'll identify it out?
12:47 Yes.
12:48 Just assuming that, okay, this is a random person in the area coming to me.
12:51 This is information being shared.
12:53 Okay, okay. So that means the relationship is deeper than just walkabouts?
12:57 Well, right. So the relationship is what we have to start somewhere. So we start with the walkabouts. The patrols, our patrols, we say directive. Directed, we want the patrol officers not to just drive around. We want them to stop, walk, and talk.
13:11 So stop the vehicle, walk around in that little area, and speak to the people.
13:16 Not just pass through.
13:17 Not just pass through.
13:18 We saw the lights here a few seconds ago.
13:20 So that is it. Stop, walk, and talk is the motto when we use patrols, when we talk about patrols. Yes, stop, walk, and talk.
13:27 So how do the persons in your community deal with the light situation? Because I know some persons saying, "Why do officers when on patrol have these lights on? They're too bright. It's alerting the criminal elements that you're on your way." How do you deal with that?
13:39 Okay, well, once again, we cannot please everyone. There would be persons who would complain about the lights, and then some persons feel reassured at night, especially when the city lights. So what our mandate is to have the lights at night because you know the persons would know that the police is in the area, and then it could also be a deterrent.
13:59 Correct. But I think most of the officers I could speak to with regards to understanding, if in a situation, they will say, "All right, let me take off these lights for a reason. Something may not be right." So in this case, I don't want to alert anyone that we may be driving through the area. They may know these areas may be known for a lot of criminal activities. So obviously, they wouldn't switch on the lights. I'm just saying.
14:24 Right. So not every time we do something, we change it around sometimes. So based on information that we may have, we may patrol with all the lights.
14:34 Yes.
14:35 Right? And then sometimes, so we look at not every time we go on a patrol is for the similar purpose. So we look at what is our purpose going out there.
14:43 Now, Inspector Ragby, with regards to young persons in your community, and I'm specifically speaking in your district, how are you able to reach out to them for them to understand the importance of staying on the right path? Because we're seeing a lot of our young people going in the direction. Obviously, we don't want them to go.
15:03 But let me know what it is that assists these young persons from being involved in gangs and of course, placing their idle hands in places it shouldn't be.
15:14 So communication is critical. You need to speak to them. We speak to them, the police officers, we go to the schools, speak to them at the schools, at the playgrounds. So you stop, you're on patrol, you see the young people on the playground playing cricket or football, you stop and speak to them, interact with them.
15:31 After school is a common thing that there are certain areas that they will-
15:35 They will chill.
15:36 They will chill. So as the police, you go and interact with them there and you would interact. You open that line of communication, have a conversation with them. And by doing that, they know, they start to build trust and they would open up and they would ask questions.
15:53 And then you would have the discussion going. Then you would be able to advise them to come join the youth club and various, you could guide them, mentor them in the way in which you want to go.
16:04 Also, also, whilst we walk about, we would speak to the parents, you know, sometimes we may have information of children who we consider vulnerable. So we would pay more attention to that home.
16:19 Which is good.
16:20 Yes.
16:21 Because they're seeing someone is seeking their interest, which is most important.
16:24 So at this time, of course, we get ready to take your calls when we come back. You can give us a call at 623-1711, extension 1992, 1993, 1996 and 1997. We take a break and we'll be back.
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17:48 And we are back. Remember, you can give us a call at 623-1711, extension 1992, 1993, 1996 and 1997.
18:01 If you're not joining us, we have Inspector Ragbir of the Rio Claro Police Station here with us.
18:07 And when we have officers who come and they have so much pride, which to me is the majority of officers to be honest, because the few bad apples make it really bad for the officers who are really trying to do their job the best way they can.
18:21 Now a sergeant and a former SRP officer charged with misbehavior in public office. A sergeant of the police and a former Special Reserve Police officer among three persons charged with multiple counts of misbehavior in public office.
18:37 Number 16127 Sergeant Sherwin Waldron along with Suzanne Portal Griffith and Ian Brown. And he is a former SRP officer who was also charged with misbehavior in public office to with possession of prohibited weapons and misbehavior in public office to with possession of ammunition.
18:58 When you hear officers who are supposed to take pride in their uniform and to protect and serve and hear that they basically show this grace towards the uniform, what do you say especially to the young officers who are now freshly in the service?
19:17 I would like to say to the young officers within the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service, remember pride. The acronym pride, perform your duty with pride. And I would like to take this opportunity to say that we in the TTPS, no one is above the law.
19:33 Even our own members are not above the law. And once an investigation is conducted and there is evidence, we would charge those persons, even members of the TTPS for offenses. And it has been proven over the years the number of officers who are charged for several offenses.
19:53 And if it shows that we, the TTPS, there is no covering for anyone, you commit a crime, you would be punished, you would be prosecuted for that.
20:05 Of course, which is very important and showing the public some sort of transparency when it comes to dealing with the officers. Now, let's talk to the citizens who are homeowners, business owners, and we're seeing where individuals see it fit to come and extort or harm or break into persons' homes because they believe that all those things you have there should belong to you.
20:32 You should share, you should actually not even share, you need to just give it to me because I deserve it.
20:38 So we see those persons who have the entitlement behavior or mindset, they're entitled to something without hard work.
20:46 And when we look at some of the tips for homeowners to protect your home and protect yourself, there is something called the treaties.
20:56 And it's a set of treaties that deter, detect, and defend. So some simple measures that one can use to deter persons from entering your premises or coming to your home.
21:08 You make yourself, we say target hardening, you want to harden yourself. So simple as ensuring your premises is well lit, especially at night, your premises well lit.
21:18 You cut the bushes, the plants around your house, cut it, keep it well so there's a line of sight. You prevent persons from entering your premises easily.
21:27 And camouflage within those spots.
21:29 Ensure your gate, simple thing, as if gate is locked at night. Some persons forget to lock the gate.
21:35 When you're retiring at bed, ensure that your doors and windows are locked.
21:40 Don't, I wonder if I'd lock the door.
21:43 Yes, check it.
21:44 Before once in the, and you're so comfortable in the bed, you say you know what, I sure would lock, but sometimes it may not be.
21:51 It may not be. If you can afford and you have an alarm system, fine. Cameras would also be fine, especially cameras that you could monitor remotely.
22:01 You know, and on coming home, when you're driving your car, coming home or reaching your premises, pay attention to your surroundings.
22:10 If you observe a vehicle following you, observe someone strange standing nearby your gate or your yard, keep on driving, make a block and come around back.
22:18 Just don't stop there. So you have to be vigilant.
22:22 At all times.
22:23 At all times, yes. Even within the house now, in your home, you can develop code words or safe words so your family members know once that word is used, it is, something is not right and there's a danger.
22:38 So that means at home we should have drills.
22:41 Drills, yes. You could have safety drills.
22:43 Okay.
22:44 And you know, even within the home, there is different areas in the home that you may have secured properly so that in the emergency cases, the members can go there to hide and call for help.
22:56 That's crazy that we have to be imprisoned in our own home just to feel safe and the criminal elements that are out there now, they are doing the most and making us even uncomfortable in our own home because of, as you mentioned, the fear factor that lives in many of us, hoping and praying that it's not us.
23:18 When we watch things on the show, even online, we are in a place of, this could be me. I could see that this could really be me. So what could we do to remove, or I want to say erase, eradicate that fear factor that clearly is dormant in some of us.
23:39 Okay. So we have to educate ourselves. And when you say educate yourself, so some of these measures, once you implement these measures, you can feel a level of safety.
23:50 So even having your children or yourself take defensive protective classes, we're looking at to protect yourself, physical defensive training, alarm, a horn within your home is a simple thing.
24:07 Oh yes, that is a great device.
24:08 A device, because when that goes off, it will alert the neighborhood of what is happening. So also, be on good terms with your neighbors. Show an eye at your neighbor. Your neighbor shows an eye at you.
24:19 I think a lot of persons need to put their tails between their legs a bit. And especially in all relationships, sometimes with neighbors, but at this time, we all have to stick together to try to figure out a way to protect each other.
24:33 And while we're on the topic, we talk about the home, but also business. And we look at small business, the little mini-marts and convenience stores that open late at night. We say to the owners, the proprietors of these business, same thing.
24:50 Look at your lighting, look at your security measures. If you can afford it, have an arm security at the door. A simple mechanism is those electronic doors that you have control to open and let in who you want, and you keep them out.
25:07 Another measure you can have is a seal window within the building so the persons do not have to enter the premises to get purchased. They can purchase through the window. So in that instance, you, the proprietor, is safe inside and can sell the person through the window.
25:24 What about time with regards to closing one's business? You know, sometimes because we have many businesses in communities, and they say, "Well, I'm safe because I know many of us live in the area, and I know everyone, and everyone knows me." But you don't know who's driving through your area.
25:41 Yes.
25:42 So should there be a specific time for it? Should it lock off?
25:45 I would not want to say to give a time, you know, but each area would be different, and the owners of the business would know, dependent on the sales they may get, they may want to open, or if sales are reduced at a certain time, they would want to close.
26:01 However, what I would also encourage the business owners is to be part of the station councils. So each station has a station council where the police, together with different sectors of the community we have, you know, business people would also be there, and we discuss strategies how to protect them.
26:22 So I'd advise that the business owners also join the local station council and interact with the police so they could have some of these safety measures and strategies implemented.
26:33 Yes. We will continue more about the community policing, and I want to touch a little bit also on gang activities and how you're able to uproot some of these gang members who may try to come into your communities and make it as a place of, "You're not welcome here at all." We need to take a break, and when we come back, we'll continue with more.
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28:13 And we are back. Remember, you can give us a call at 623-1711, extension 1992, 1993, 1996, and 1997.
28:31 Inspector Rackby, we spoke about gangs because we're seeing the gangs growing many heads, and in different areas throughout Trinidad and Tobago. But in your district, in your division, how are you able to find a way to prevent these gang members from settling?
28:48 Because many times you'll hear a person say that in my area, we never had these issues before. We never had gang activities. But persons left certain areas that clearly was riddled with a lot of gang activities and made their way because they're fleeing.
29:03 They no longer either welcome there or they want to spread their tentacles to other locations, and they look for a place to settle. And when they find a place that they see that they could control, they now bring other elements into the area, and that's where everything starts to fall apart.
29:22 How were you able to find a way to prevent these gangs from planting seeds in your district?
29:32 So for a gang to flourish, for a gang to grow and flourish, you need the support of a community. So this is the main purpose. Firstly, we have to build the ties with the community. And once the community in that area does not harbor them and does not give them that support, they will not be able to flourish.
29:54 So this is where the community initiatives take hold now. We have the building that trust between the community and the police, and especially with the youths. So this is where we target our youths, youth club, sporting activities, to get them away, pull them, give them something of interest other than the gangs.
30:13 So when the gang members come into the area and they don't have that support of the community, we also encourage the persons, the elderly persons in the community, to give information, share the information about strange persons. So now we the police can strategize and conduct operations targeting these persons and make them uncomfortable.
30:36 What is a way that a citizen could support a gang member? Some ways that you, persons may think that, well, I didn't know he was in a gang. Well, if you do, I'm not involved, but that's a friend. That's somebody I know. Is that a way of supporting a person?
30:54 Of course. It starts with allowing persons to just stay by you. We have persons coming from one region to another. So they hide in where we say they run in from the police, they hide in. So they come and they stay by you. They stay a couple of days. So you provide shelter, you provide that, you know, assistance in terms of lodging, boarding and lodging for them.
31:17 And then they start lying or congregating with the other youths in that area and the influence grew among them. So we start by not harboring them, not keeping them at you.
31:28 So if it is that you have a family member that you know, I mean, they live in that community and they're involved in gang activity, but there is the idea, how as a parent or maybe a relative that you're sharing the same place, how do you deal with a situation like that? What do you do? Where do you start?
31:48 So as I say, the persons who have been affected, they may live in the same situation, the same premises, but they do not condone that behavior. The information forthcoming would be accepted by us, it would be treated by us, you know, and it would be treated confidentially. And then we would make operations and interview that person to determine, you know, how we go forward with the person's present there.
32:16 So is it, could an officer, I'm just, my brain is running, can an officer, knowing with information received that a person or persons are involved in gang activity, inform the individuals, go to them and let them know that they can't reside in this area? Could you do that?
32:37 I'm asking, I've just been, honestly, I'm just thinking crazy or out of the box where you know these persons, you don't have the hard evidence yet, maybe it's a charge, but could you inform them that they can no longer reside here?
32:49 So we just, we can't go and tell people to up and go, no, that is not, we don't have that authority. But you use the word evidence. So you use the word evidence and this is what we work on, evidence. So when we get information, we utilize the information available to us for us now to go and gather the evidence. So there's several methods by which we gather evidence and based on evidence, then we can take legal action against this.
33:18 Could you make someone uncomfortable, meaning an officer could make someone uncomfortable without being, what's the word I'm looking for? Yeah, compromising the uniform or his conduct or his or her conduct when dealing with individuals because obviously when I say make someone uncomfortable, you may be constantly in the area, wanting to know what this individual is doing because obviously you have information that they're not going to be able to do that.
33:47 So you want to make sure that this person may be involved in some sort of illegal activity.
33:51 When you use the word make them uncomfortable, it's a loose term. We don't want to go down the road of being oppressive or working outside of the remit of the law.
34:03 But what about suppressing? Because that could be a form of...
34:06 Right. So the initiatives that we use, some of the initiatives, simple road checks in certain areas can be...
34:14 A nuisance.
34:15 Well, people may look at it as a nuisance.
34:17 I mean, citizens will see it like that.
34:19 Yeah, but those operations have the purpose for being there at that time. Based on statistics, based on data, we would utilize and determine where we utilize our resources. So if we observe at a certain time, at a certain location, certain time we have an increase in crime, we'd want to implement strategies or operations within that region during that time frame.
34:46 So you would know obviously to make the individuals that need to be uncomfortable, uncomfortable.
34:52 Without directly making them uncomfortable.
34:54 Yes. Well, I mean, you stop an operation, which to me as citizens, we don't want that. We don't want to have a smooth operation happening within a community and bringing unnecessary elements, which we have seen some weeks ago where persons in the community, you don't know what some of these individuals may be involved in.
35:14 They come to check you at your place, you may have friends and these persons follow.
35:19 This is why it is important for these strong community groups. And when you're involved with these groups and the persons in the group, information, they would share that that information is coming. So when there are strange persons coming into that area, the police would know about it. And we could do what we call background checks on the persons coming into that area.
35:39 Yes. So, I mean, in that case, that will be something good. It's gathering information and officers could do that. Because I remember there was a time there was a road check. I know you hate to say road block. But they pulled me aside and they just asked for basic information.
35:56 They said, you know, it is nothing that you did wrong. Everything was fine. They still asked for license and registration and all those things. But they just took basic information.
36:07 So when we are on the road checks and we take that information, it is an account of who we interacted with. So we have a record that we would have interacted with you at this time, at this place.
36:19 So you have to give that information if the officer asks or is it something that it's on the person to say yes or no? But I just complied.
36:28 Once you're driving on the roadway and the officer stops you, you're driving documents, you have to produce your driver's permit and the certificate of insurance. The officer would have your information, basic information, the name, address on the driver's permit.
36:41 But the thing about it is we talk about customer service and the police service has embarked on training, customer service training. So I am sure if the officer is pleasant and cordial, may ask you questions and the conversation will be healthy between the driver and the police officer.
37:03 And the officer would get the information needed. It would have to be difficult.
37:10 All right. When we come back, we'll continue with more. Let's take that break.
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37:37 And bags.
37:39 Keeping our country clean.
37:41 For more information on how you can be an Earth Defender, visit us on swimcol.co.tt.
37:47 Look out for us, coming to your school soon.
37:50 [Music]
37:52 [Indistinct chatter]
38:16 [Music]
38:29 [Music]
38:33 And we are back. We have a call on the line. Let's take that call. Hello, good evening.
38:37 Hello?
38:41 Hi.
38:42 Hi, good evening, mum. You can go ahead.
38:44 [Indistinct chatter]
38:51 Hello?
38:52 Hi, good afternoon.
38:53 Yes, you can go ahead.
38:55 Hi, good afternoon. Are you hearing me?
38:58 Yes, we're hearing you loud and clear. You can go ahead, mum.
39:00 It is sad...
39:02 [Indistinct chatter]
39:04 It is sad when you see something, say something.
39:08 [Indistinct chatter]
39:09 Yes.
39:10 Yes, but...
39:12 Okay, mum, listen just now.
39:14 I need you... Mum, I need you to take off your television.
39:19 Take it off, so we can hear you. We're getting terrible feedback.
39:23 And, of course, for those of you who would like to call, you can call 623-1711, extension 1992, 1993, 1996, and 1997.
39:41 Let's head back to the phone line. Hello, good evening.
39:44 Hi, good afternoon.
39:45 Yes, good evening, mum. Go ahead.
39:47 It is sad that you see something, say something, isn't it?
39:51 Yes.
39:52 Are you hearing me clearly?
39:53 Yes.
39:54 You see something, say something. I see something that's very strange.
40:01 [Indistinct chatter]
40:04 I saw something very strange I want to comment on.
40:08 Okay, what's that?
40:09 I hope... So, what's the officer? I hope he don't blush.
40:13 But what I see, he looks so handsome in his uniform.
40:18 Very handsome.
40:21 [Laughter]
40:22 All that stuff. Button, that button there gives him a fit look, and he has a smile to back it up.
40:28 Off the book, blush, all the best.
40:30 [Phone chimes]
40:31 Well, she said something. She saw something and she said...
40:34 Thank you.
40:35 Oh, she felt.
40:36 Is blushy blush in there?
40:38 [Laughter]
40:40 Of course.
40:41 I mean, it's always good to get a good laugh because we always speak about a lot of the doom and gloom that we see that is taking place.
40:48 And I would say to my officers, you don't have a second chance for a first impression.
40:53 Yes.
40:54 So, you know, sometimes, you know, how we wear the uniform, you know, take a little pride.
40:59 And to the caller, thank you.
41:02 You're married?
41:03 Yes, I am.
41:04 He's married, ma'am. He's taken already, happily married.
41:08 So, let's go back to the gang activities that we are seeing more and more happening throughout Trinidad and Tobago.
41:15 And we're really trying to find ways that we could detour, especially our young people, from seeing it as an avenue for a career.
41:26 It almost comes across like if it's a career they're seeking.
41:29 You know, they're sending a resume and...
41:32 You see, so remember the famous line, "Get rich or die trying."
41:38 So, we see that is happening.
41:40 And it is what we have to do is reach out to the youths, get them and teach them, mentor them in the avenues by which they can earn a good living.
41:55 You know, they can be a good citizen that is beneficial to the country.
42:01 And that the gang life may seem bright, but...
42:06 So, sometimes the conversation with the youths have to be real.
42:10 You have to keep it real.
42:11 This is what the gang is about.
42:14 And this is the consequences.
42:17 They have to know what is the consequences to being in a gang.
42:21 Now, you mentioned... We have a call. Let's take this call and I will go back to my point.
42:25 Hello, good evening.
42:26 Good evening.
42:27 Good evening.
42:28 Hello, good evening.
42:30 Good evening, sir. Go ahead.
42:32 Good show, Inspector.
42:35 You look very, I might put it, professional.
42:39 With respect to dealing with gangs, right?
42:44 I think we need to do a little more surveillance.
42:49 At times, we have to profile those who we know are involved in gang activities.
42:55 While people may think, you know, that we are profiling based on race and the like.
42:59 It is not based on race. It is based on information and intelligence.
43:02 And sometimes we just have to do profiling and heavy surveillance.
43:06 That's a key approach when we are doing suppression.
43:10 And we need to get into suppression.
43:12 The community police do a good job in terms of preventative.
43:17 But also, the people who we know are involved in gang activities, we have to do heavy surveillance and profiling.
43:25 Right? That's my contribution. That's my real thinking.
43:28 Thank you. I totally agree.
43:30 I know persons hate to say, "Why are you profiling?"
43:34 But these are the persons that we are seeing committing most of the crimes.
43:37 So the caller is quite right.
43:39 To deem someone a gang member, we need to show association.
43:47 We need to show the structure of the gang.
43:50 And there is quite a bit of work that needs.
43:53 And surveillance and profiling are two of the factors that will be needed to be done.
44:00 So we just cannot just watch two persons or three persons lying on a corner and say they are a gang.
44:05 It doesn't work like that.
44:07 But obviously not. I mean, as the caller said, with surveillance and having proper surveillance, then you won't be intelligence.
44:12 That is how we go about gathering the evidence.
44:15 So, as I said, information and evidence.
44:18 So surveillance and profiling are two forms that we gather the evidence to deem persons gang members.
44:25 But we just can't just watch people and say three of them lying. They are gang members.
44:29 I saw that two ministers made a statement with regards to young persons and their concerns about the crime situation in Trinidad and Tobago.
44:40 And they were basically saying there are programs that are there for them, but they are also not able to get access to it.
44:47 But I know we have a call, so let me take that call and we will continue at that point.
44:50 Hello, good evening.
44:51 Good afternoon, ma'am, and good afternoon to the inspector.
44:54 Good evening, sir.
44:56 Yes, you were on the topic of gangs a short while ago.
45:01 Yes.
45:02 The Minister of National Security is on record as saying that they know that there are X amount of gangs with X amount of members in Trinidad and Tobago.
45:11 Now that is information. And that information could be leads to evidence.
45:19 Why is the police not acting and gathering this evidence and bringing those people before the court under the anti-gang legislation?
45:27 Thank you.
45:30 And as the caller said, we go back to evidence and information.
45:36 So we have information and it's to convert information into evidence.
45:41 And how we do that? As the previous caller said, surveillance, profiling, proof of association.
45:46 And when we look at it, there are different regions. We're not saying no, there are not gangs in Trinidad.
45:51 There are gangs, but we're looking at the regions, different regions.
45:54 So if I drop a gang sign to represent whatever gang, does that mean I am now part of the gang?
46:02 If you have a sign posted or a symbol posted.
46:05 Yes, correct. Or a tattoo.
46:06 That is something that we would now pay attention to you.
46:11 But that doesn't necessarily mean that you are automatically a member of that gang.
46:15 That is not evidence, direct evidence. It shows that it's something that we could pay attention to.
46:21 But it does not say that.
46:23 It's very sticky. I think we need to be clear on that. We'll take a break. We'll be back.
46:27 [Music]
46:56 That's exactly what we need.
46:58 Hi, your call is this way.
47:00 [Music]
47:02 Whatever you're here for, we're here for you.
47:06 Stay smart at the Holiday Inn Express and Suites.
47:10 [Music]
47:20 This is Mary.
47:22 Mary has bills to pay and takes a chance parking in front of the building at the no parking sign.
47:29 Mary returns to her car and this is what happens.
47:33 [Music]
47:40 Mary decides to call when she's five minutes away to let her daughter know that she is close by.
47:46 But Mary forgot one thing.
47:49 [Music]
47:55 After two tickets, Mary just isn't paying attention to her speed.
48:00 [Music]
48:15 Don't be like Mary. Obey the laws of the road.
48:19 A message from the TTPS.
48:22 [Music]
48:29 And we are back. So, Inspector Ragbir, we have a few more minutes before we wrap things up.
48:34 And what I wanted to ask was with regards to what the ministers were saying, there are programs involved.
48:40 But programs that are there for the young persons, but most of them either seek no interest from what they're stating.
48:46 They are unable to have access to these programs.
48:49 Do you think that the same ministries, they should have their members make their way into the areas that they know they may not have access to?
48:58 So, they will be assisting them and not just saying, "Well, we put it out there and it's there for you all."
49:03 And they don't want to use it.
49:04 So, with anything you're doing, you have to sell it.
49:07 You have to sell it. Like the police youth clubs, when it was started, people just didn't rush and bring their children to join youth clubs.
49:14 We, the police, went out and sell the idea of youth clubs and the benefits that can bring to the family and the children.
49:23 And hence the reason we get people to buy in and become part of the youth club.
49:28 In that same light, some of these programs, yes, the persons who are responsible for the programs need to go to the communities.
49:35 They need to work with community members, other community members, and even the police and different agencies, NGOs, the churches, the mosques, the temples, work and sell your idea.
49:47 That is the only way you're going to get the youth involved.
49:51 You're going to have to discuss it with them and for them now to make it bright, to make it attractive to them.
49:57 So, then you would get their interest back in the interest.
50:00 I think also too the ministries need to work together because there's the Ministry of Urban Development and they will be able to give, because we all love in Trinidad,
50:08 always talk about stats and statistics and the information that they have, that they'll be able to share areas of young people who may not have access to get these programs easily accessible.
50:20 But I know time is against us and at this time I would like you to say a few words before we go. We have less than 30 seconds.
50:25 I would just like to say one thing. We talk about the ministry in Rio Claro area, there is the Ministry of Social Development and we have officer at that ministry, Ms. Rampersad.
50:35 She is part of our station council. She attends meetings and she works hand in hand with us.
50:42 A couple of weeks ago there was a caravan, a youth caravan at Rio Claro.
50:46 So, thank you so much though. I know time is against us.
50:49 Inspector Rugby, we have to wrap things up from Rio Claro Police Station. We appreciate you and of course we hope that you'll be back with us again.
50:57 We get ready for news coming up next. TNT, be blessed.
51:01 [Music]
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