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00:00:00This program is unsuitable for young children.
00:00:30Beyond the tape, we'll be back after these messages.
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00:02:40All the Republic Bank CPL Action is live and exclusive on CCN-TV6.
00:02:47Welcome to Beyond the Tape, I'm your host, Marc Besant, and yes, today is Friday, the
00:03:03last day of the week, and today we're going to be talking to a gentleman that wears a
00:03:07very big hat.
00:03:10He can shed light on all of what DTPS is doing when it comes to extortion, the spike in the
00:03:16and what comfort is there for the traumatized public?
00:03:20What is happening with police-involved shootings?
00:03:23And those, of course, those police cams
00:03:27where there seems to be some uncertainty
00:03:29as to what is happening in terms of their usage.
00:03:32And how do you keep an already outstretched
00:03:36police force motivated?
00:03:39Those are some of the things that we hope
00:03:41to discuss here today with none other than,
00:03:44and I want to welcome, DCP Benjamin.
00:03:50Yes, and Mark, it's a privilege to be here.
00:03:52I tell you, I'm really honored, and it's a privilege.
00:03:55I want to, again, on behalf of the commissioner,
00:03:58even congratulate you again on your awards, you know,
00:04:02and it's a privilege to be here.
00:04:04I think that a program of this nature
00:04:06really helps us as the police service
00:04:08to share with the public
00:04:09and also to hear what the public has to say.
00:04:11So it is indeed a privilege to be here this afternoon.
00:04:14And definitely, DCP, you would agree with me
00:04:17that I think the public's engagement
00:04:20is extremely important going forward,
00:04:23especially in a time like this
00:04:26where we have a worrying trend of violent crime.
00:04:28I'm not just going to say murders
00:04:30because they're just a facet of it,
00:04:32a part thereof of this criminal situation,
00:04:36but you have other violent kinds of crimes happening.
00:04:39We have home invasions.
00:04:40We have normal shootings.
00:04:44We have robberies with aggravation and so on.
00:04:47So there's a number of factors
00:04:49when you think about violent crime, not just murders,
00:04:52that has now burdened the police service
00:04:55in such a way that sometimes you have to wonder
00:04:59if the resources are so stretched
00:05:02that you all can actually be
00:05:05where you need to be at all times.
00:05:07Yeah, and I tell you, it is amazing
00:05:10because I think even as we continue in the program,
00:05:14we will see that, again, the commissioner
00:05:16as well as the top executive,
00:05:18we are doing all that is humanly possible
00:05:21to use our resources in such a way
00:05:23that we believe is best suited
00:05:26for the Trinidad and Tobago police service
00:05:28and Trinidad and Tobago on a whole.
00:05:30You will see for yourself, again,
00:05:32because sometimes it's not about stats
00:05:35because people don't really care about your stats,
00:05:36but I will tell you, the same stats
00:05:38is going to show where we've seen an increase in murders,
00:05:41but even the same stats is going to show
00:05:44in nearly, there's 14 different areas
00:05:49in terms of serious crime,
00:05:51and it's only in three of those areas
00:05:52that there's an increase.
00:05:53Everything else is a decrease.
00:05:55So I'm saying that the strategies are working
00:05:58and we're gonna talk more about that as we go along,
00:06:00but again, we are going to continue to see
00:06:03that there are room for improvement
00:06:06and we will continue to make those improvements.
00:06:08Again, the murder is something of a meaning.
00:06:11It is something that to me is of great concern
00:06:14to the public and the police service as well,
00:06:17and therefore we are saying one murder
00:06:19is one murder too much.
00:06:20So we are certainly not pleased
00:06:23even though we are seeing some positive
00:06:25in the midst of the negative,
00:06:26but we are continuing to push forward
00:06:28to ensure at the end that we have a safer Trinidad and Tobago.
00:06:31And I know DCP Benjamin, not too long ago,
00:06:34about, let's say about six weeks ago,
00:06:37you all held a press conference
00:06:40and you spoke about the push
00:06:43that the police service was intent on making,
00:06:47not just on violent crime,
00:06:49but especially that emphasis on homicides.
00:06:54But we are still seeing,
00:06:56I mean, we had an exponential number of murders for July.
00:07:00We had 66 murders in July.
00:07:03It's unheard of that I've never seen so much in one month.
00:07:08And it's quite troubling that the trend
00:07:10kind of pushes on into August.
00:07:13And we had a 409 or 10 murders, too much.
00:07:19And we haven't even ended August.
00:07:22And we have another quarter to come of the year.
00:07:27And the statistics or the outlook on statistics
00:07:32seems to be grim.
00:07:33And I hate to see that we have,
00:07:38and I don't mean it in any disrespectful way,
00:07:40but we have criminologists and others chiming in
00:07:44on what the numbers can look like.
00:07:48And I want to believe,
00:07:49I hope that many, if not all are wrong,
00:07:52that we can, as a community,
00:07:55as well as with the assistance of the police service,
00:07:58kind of bridge that gap and stymie this violent crime
00:08:01that is spiraling out of control.
00:08:03And we're seeing it mirrored now in Tobago.
00:08:06We have 20 murders in Tobago,
00:08:07a record for the year already,
00:08:11in an area that thrives a lot on tourism.
00:08:15I have some of the most beautiful beaches in the world.
00:08:17I mean, how difficult has that job been
00:08:20since you've been saying, we're trying to lock down,
00:08:23we have roadblocks, we have this going on.
00:08:26You have not, I know you're not in the place
00:08:28that you want to be, yes?
00:08:30Yes, certainly.
00:08:31And the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service on a whole,
00:08:34saying that we have always pride ourselves
00:08:38in the sense of really want to see a reduction in crime.
00:08:42Again, because crime is a very dynamic situation,
00:08:46and it changes, and sometimes the change is not,
00:08:49if it's not static, it continues to change
00:08:51based on the situation.
00:08:53Because what you recognize is that probably
00:08:55just about over 60% of the murders might be gang-related.
00:08:59And therefore, the way in which we would deal
00:09:03with those gang-related offenses
00:09:05would be different to how we might deal
00:09:07with domestic situations.
00:09:09And therefore, in every single division,
00:09:13we are looking at the crime trends,
00:09:16and we are going to allow the CAPA data to lead us,
00:09:19understand that even though these things are happening,
00:09:22and persons might have their own opinion
00:09:25in terms of what the outlook might probably end up,
00:09:29we are personally looking at it in terms of, again,
00:09:34intelligence-led, evidence-based solutions to crime.
00:09:38And therefore, the police service,
00:09:40we are looking at what we call the 80-20 rule,
00:09:43where it is only the 20% of the persons
00:09:47that are doing 80% of the problems.
00:09:49And if we target those persons, the priority offenders,
00:09:52we believe that we will be able to get control
00:09:54of this situation.
00:09:55We believe also, if we look at the 20% of the places,
00:09:58which are the hotspot areas,
00:10:00we will be able to lock down the situation.
00:10:02And therefore, I believe that it's not something
00:10:06that we are looking as out of control.
00:10:10We believe that, yes, it is high in terms of our murders,
00:10:14and I want to especially say the murders.
00:10:17However, even in the other areas, we are seeing a reduction,
00:10:21and we are seeing that the strategies that we are doing
00:10:24is really working.
00:10:26And there I see, there I see that one of the other,
00:10:31that goes hand-in-hand with the homicide,
00:10:33which is, of course, eight or nine or 10 murders
00:10:37is actually death by a firearm.
00:10:40And that is another intrinsic part of this puzzle
00:10:44in ensuring that we get that homicide redone,
00:10:48and the access to firearms that these criminals have,
00:10:54and where they're coming in from, and so on,
00:10:56is also another point of discussion, of course.
00:10:59And we are seeing some very high-powered weapons
00:11:02being used in most murders now,
00:11:06especially when it comes to gang-related murders, right?
00:11:11What has the police been trying to do
00:11:13in terms of arresting that problem,
00:11:15with the help, of course, of other inter-agencies?
00:11:19We know you have the Trans-Atlantic Criminal Unit.
00:11:23They would be delving, they would be leasing,
00:11:25of course, with foreign entities,
00:11:26and I know the U.S. has also thrown in their support
00:11:29and assistance to the TTPS and other entities
00:11:32in the Caribbean, you have impacts and so on.
00:11:35But this gun situation seems to be a very serious one.
00:11:40The importation of illegal firearms,
00:11:42finding its way into the ports, the legal entries,
00:11:47more so now, rather than, let's say, five years ago,
00:11:50when, at one point, Venezuela was where
00:11:53the majority of firearms come.
00:11:55Now you're seeing the majority coming from North America.
00:11:59Yes, and let me just say,
00:12:00in terms of what the police is doing,
00:12:02we are looking at, again, the trend,
00:12:05and therefore, in all our divisions,
00:12:07we are seeking to place the necessary strategies
00:12:10as it relates to prevention, intervention, and suppression
00:12:14to deal with those situations.
00:12:15I can tell you, even already, for the week,
00:12:18we have collected, we have had, we seized
00:12:21about four or five firearms, one of them being
00:12:24an, I think, what, a high-powered rifle.
00:12:29We were able to seize in the Northern Division.
00:12:32So it means that the police officers are on the run.
00:12:34They're working, they're seeking to get those, you know,
00:12:39weapons out of the hands of the persons,
00:12:42and we are saying that that could only really take place
00:12:46if we have the work of persons
00:12:48from the community working with us.
00:12:50We have to also understand that this is not a problem,
00:12:53this is not just the police alone.
00:12:56We have the borders that need to be protected,
00:12:59and that is an issue that we must also look at,
00:13:02and we are also really working to see that,
00:13:05even, you know, in terms of our Air and Coastal Support Unit
00:13:09to be there to help us with that,
00:13:11but also the Coast Guard would also help us in that area.
00:13:14And while that is happening, we also need to ensure
00:13:17that, again, in terms of the immigration and also customs,
00:13:23everybody must play a part.
00:13:24So therefore, it's not just the police in this.
00:13:26You are going to see, coming out of this,
00:13:29that what we call that multi-agency approach,
00:13:31so that we can be able to deal with this crime situation
00:13:34and also with the firearm situation.
00:13:36But most definitely, because, I mean,
00:13:37that is something that has been rather contentious for years,
00:13:40and, of course, another element to that, of course,
00:13:43is that there is this belief that there are officers
00:13:49on the border, customs and others,
00:13:51that are also helping to facilitate that illegal,
00:13:56or that illicit entry of firearms into the country,
00:14:00because it's coming out illegal ports.
00:14:02They're hidden in containers, they're hidden in certain things,
00:14:05and somebody's paid X amount of dollars
00:14:08to look the other way,
00:14:09while that container is not as clear,
00:14:11or sometimes, depending, it's not scanned.
00:14:16And I know there is an issue with the scanners
00:14:18at the customs, at the ports right now.
00:14:21Hopefully, they're trying to resolve that soon,
00:14:23because I know that the government had recently made,
00:14:28they said that they had made a purchase or so of equipment
00:14:31to try and rectify some of the problems
00:14:32and get new scanners on the port there,
00:14:35because I think that is essential and key.
00:14:37And I'm a little bit familiar with the ASICULA system,
00:14:42and I mean, it's difficult when you,
00:14:44I did a piece a couple years ago about the ASICULA system
00:14:47and involving the shipment of drugs
00:14:49from Jamaica to Trinidad and so on,
00:14:52for you to really fly under that radar,
00:14:54unless somebody in there is punching up something
00:14:58that is contrary to what is really there,
00:15:00or getting you past the system in some way.
00:15:04Well, what I can say is that the Trinidad and Tobago
00:15:07police service, based on our violent reduction plan,
00:15:11has taken a zero tolerance in relation to police
00:15:15indiscipline and corruption.
00:15:17I am saying that should not just be for the police service,
00:15:19which it goes for all other agencies.
00:15:22And I think that if we really start to stamp out
00:15:25that level of corruption from within,
00:15:28people are going to, once again,
00:15:29start to trust the organizations,
00:15:32including the police service.
00:15:34And therefore, I'm saying here,
00:15:35in terms of the police service,
00:15:36we are taking a zero tolerance approach.
00:15:39We are saying that police officers
00:15:40must not be of that kind of ilk
00:15:44if you're going to be part of the organization.
00:15:45Once we know about it,
00:15:47we are going to deal with it decisively,
00:15:49because we are saying that's a form of indiscipline.
00:15:52Once we can bring those perpetrators
00:15:54or even police officers to a place where,
00:15:57again, they are breaking the law,
00:15:58they are going to face the full brunt of the law
00:16:01within the service.
00:16:02It is a serious, no-nonsense approach
00:16:04when coming to corruption within the service.
00:16:06And that's the standard we have taken.
00:16:08We will certainly continue this discussion,
00:16:10but let's go to our headlines now.
00:16:13♪♪
00:16:23♪♪
00:16:34♪♪
00:16:45♪♪
00:16:54♪♪
00:17:02♪♪
00:17:10Some certainly very troubling headlines,
00:17:12and, of course, one of those,
00:17:14at least two of the stories in today's newspaper
00:17:17speaks to the tragic death
00:17:20of the father and daughter in Moruga,
00:17:23and the prime minister is expressing shock and anger,
00:17:26describing it as barbaric,
00:17:29and hopeful that the perpetrators
00:17:31of this particular crime will be brought to justice.
00:17:35And, of course, we also have the MP,
00:17:37Michel Benjamin, also appealing
00:17:40for more patrols in the Moruga area,
00:17:42perhaps bracing for any kind of retaliatory attacks.
00:17:46God forbid.
00:17:49Yes, and certainly we are looking at that situation.
00:17:52Again, we want to say condolences to the family.
00:17:55It's something that when you read it,
00:17:57I mean, your heart breaks,
00:17:59because that is just, I mean, it's so sad.
00:18:02It's really, really unfortunate
00:18:04that we have these kind of heartless killings,
00:18:08you know, and when you have children involved,
00:18:11I tell you, your heart, it really bleeds.
00:18:14And, nevertheless, the Triantidibo Police Service
00:18:18really stands, you know, even with the words
00:18:20of the prime minister,
00:18:22to bring those perpetrators to justice.
00:18:24This is something that must not go,
00:18:27you know, in a manner where, again,
00:18:30like any other murder,
00:18:32where we just, you know, forget it,
00:18:34and, you know, it's just a statistic.
00:18:36It must be something where we're going to press hard
00:18:39to really find the perpetrators of this incident,
00:18:42and I want to say, you know,
00:18:46that the Triantidibo Police Service on a whole,
00:18:48as we deal with the murder situation,
00:18:51we are really trying to see
00:18:53how we can really get the necessary evidence
00:18:58to bring these people to justice,
00:19:00and, therefore, persons who might have
00:19:02any information at all,
00:19:04we want to ask you kindly,
00:19:06get in contact with us.
00:19:08If you believe that you might be fearful for your life,
00:19:11you can call 555.
00:19:14You can call, you know, 999,
00:19:16you know, 800-TIPS,
00:19:18but at the end of the day,
00:19:20we believe that crime is everybody's business,
00:19:22and if we don't deal with it now,
00:19:24we don't know when it might even get closer
00:19:26to your, you know, to your home,
00:19:28so let's work together and solve the problem now.
00:19:30We definitely will continue this conversation,
00:19:32but guess what?
00:19:34We've got to pay some bills,
00:19:36so we'll be back after this.
00:19:38My name is Junior Benjamin.
00:19:40I am the Deputy Commissioner, Operations.
00:19:43It's my privilege tonight
00:19:45to be able to speak to this exercise
00:19:47that I believe is part and parcel
00:19:49of the Commissioner's Violent Reduction Plan.
00:19:52Over the next 24 hours,
00:19:54we want to ensure that we hit
00:19:56some of the main areas
00:19:58in terms of targeting priority offenders
00:20:01and what we are hoping to accomplish
00:20:03at the end that we would
00:20:05actually see a reduction.
00:20:07I can say thus far, I've visited
00:20:09both the Port of Spring Division,
00:20:12Eastern Division, also Northeastern Division,
00:20:14North Central, and Northern North,
00:20:16and I'm pretty pleased
00:20:18with the response that I've seen so far.
00:20:20It means that the officers are out there,
00:20:22they are working hard,
00:20:24and I also can speak to the fact
00:20:26that we have that joint patrol
00:20:28with the Army as well,
00:20:30so this is not just about the police service,
00:20:32this is about a multi-agency approach,
00:20:34and this is what is needed
00:20:36as we seek to combat the crime situation.
00:20:38All in all, the reports that have been coming to me
00:20:40clearly shows that, again,
00:20:42there is a lot of cooperation
00:20:44with the other agencies
00:20:46coming together, and also
00:20:48with the different arms of the police service.
00:20:50I am confident as we continue
00:20:52in this fight that we will
00:20:54certainly win the war against crime.
00:20:56Already we have gotten some
00:20:58illicit drugs seizures,
00:21:00and we're hoping that that in itself
00:21:02will continue along with these exercises.
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00:23:36Welcome back to Beyond the Tape.
00:23:38I'm your host, Marc Bessant.
00:23:40Of course, joined by the man of the moment,
00:23:42DCP Benjamin.
00:23:44DCP Benjamin, I don't know if the public
00:23:46was just looking, but there was a video with you
00:23:48wearing the same attire.
00:23:50I was wondering if you work last night.
00:23:52You come straight here.
00:23:54Well, that's the thing.
00:23:56I'm in operation mode.
00:23:58I'm in operation mode.
00:24:00I'm in operation mode.
00:24:02I'm in operation mode.
00:24:04You don't have to.
00:24:06I'm in operation mode.
00:24:08Therefore, this is going to be it
00:24:10until we can get these things done.
00:24:12Certainly, that's the
00:24:14mentality of the police service right now.
00:24:16Especially, all the divisions,
00:24:18we are really in that operational mode.
00:24:20At any time, I'm going
00:24:22outside there. I'm going out to work
00:24:24with the officers. It just cannot be
00:24:26that at this level, you're just working
00:24:28from the top. Therefore,
00:24:30you can't just be in the office all the time.
00:24:32That's the idea with the officers.
00:24:34I'm giving them that support.
00:24:36Hence the reason I choose to be in this
00:24:38as I continue to do my part.
00:24:40I thought I was looking at a movie there
00:24:42for a second.
00:24:44Getting back to something a little more
00:24:46serious, of course, is
00:24:48this whole idea of
00:24:50a traumatized population.
00:24:52It's become like
00:24:54we're so accustomed
00:24:56now to seeing
00:24:58on the front pages of the newspaper
00:25:00already five shot dead,
00:25:02six shot dead.
00:25:04It's basically like the public
00:25:06has become so numb to the violence
00:25:08that it's become almost like
00:25:10something so mundane to them
00:25:12that it's just in passing and they continue on their way.
00:25:14But
00:25:16how is the police service treating
00:25:18with, especially, I know we have
00:25:20a Victims of Crime
00:25:22and Support Unit. If that's right,
00:25:24I apologize.
00:25:26How is the police dealing with
00:25:28by extension, not just victims
00:25:30of crime, but other people
00:25:32who are quite clearly,
00:25:34I mean, we have business people
00:25:36who are fearful for their lives
00:25:38because they're transacting business.
00:25:40They're carrying around huge sums
00:25:42of money and you have other normal citizens
00:25:44doing the same.
00:25:46How is the police service treating with
00:25:48dealing with that kind of trauma
00:25:50and what advice
00:25:52do you have
00:25:54to alleviate
00:25:56the right word here, to soothe
00:25:58concerns
00:26:00of the population?
00:26:02Yes. First of all,
00:26:04let me just say the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service,
00:26:06again,
00:26:08we are here to
00:26:10provide a level of safety and security.
00:26:12As you rightfully
00:26:14said,
00:26:16it's so important that the
00:26:18Victim and Witness Support Unit is there
00:26:20and persons
00:26:22who are traumatized, we are there
00:26:24to give that level of
00:26:26further counseling and
00:26:28assistance to get you back up and
00:26:30going because it's really
00:26:32a tragedy to
00:26:34have to go through that
00:26:36level of pain and still have to
00:26:38function. Not only that, we are doing
00:26:40a lot of customer service. When a person
00:26:42comes into the
00:26:44police station, we are saying
00:26:46that even the very attitude
00:26:48of the officer should be
00:26:50one that shows a level of
00:26:52empathy so that even
00:26:54when you come in, you should not
00:26:56feel further traumatized by bad
00:26:58attitude, you know, in
00:27:00terms of officers acting
00:27:02in a way that they don't really care.
00:27:04So we are hoping to continue
00:27:06to work on that particular
00:27:08area so that the greater customer
00:27:10service that is given to
00:27:12persons. Notwithstanding this,
00:27:14we are hoping that even
00:27:16the very way in which we do things will change.
00:27:18One, in terms of our response
00:27:20time, that we can respond
00:27:22very quickly to the trauma
00:27:24so that you know
00:27:26that the police really care.
00:27:28Not just the fact that we can respond in
00:27:30time, we want to ensure that there's proper
00:27:32follow-up so that even a person
00:27:34must know even a week after,
00:27:36two weeks after, that the
00:27:38police call and we can tell
00:27:40you what is happening with your matter
00:27:42so that you understand that it's
00:27:44a more caring police service
00:27:46that you're dealing with. We are hoping that these
00:27:48things can really aid in
00:27:50probably not stopping
00:27:52the pain, but at least knowing
00:27:54that on the other side, there is
00:27:56a police service that really
00:27:58cares about you as an
00:28:00individual and a
00:28:02victim of crime.
00:28:04Yeah, and I mean,
00:28:06you know, there is also
00:28:08this tendency. I don't know if you all
00:28:10keep statistics, of course,
00:28:12of, I know you all would
00:28:14obviously do statistics on crime, but
00:28:16what about the public? I mean,
00:28:18we've had a former commissioner
00:28:20claiming that
00:28:22during his tenure, the trust
00:28:24in the police service and confidence was
00:28:26quite high. Has the police
00:28:28service done anything
00:28:30to measure that trust as
00:28:32we stand here today? Because
00:28:34there are claims that it has been eroded
00:28:36immensely over the last year or two,
00:28:38but I
00:28:40want to know if the TTPS is actually doing
00:28:42a door-to-door or some
00:28:44kind of survey across the country
00:28:46to find out what
00:28:48people's stance and their trust
00:28:50in the police service
00:28:52and their confidence in the police service.
00:28:54Well, we have a monitoring and evaluation
00:28:56unit that is there, and
00:28:58ever so often, they just
00:29:00completed their half-yearly
00:29:02report, so we are constantly
00:29:04testing and looking at different
00:29:06areas within the police service.
00:29:08Where is it at now? In terms of
00:29:10the confidence and trust?
00:29:12Well, again,
00:29:145%, 10%, 20%?
00:29:16Again, I cannot
00:29:18say directly
00:29:20because, again, I have to
00:29:22Well, you said they completed their half-year.
00:29:24Yeah, they completed it, so it went
00:29:26for submission to the commissioner, and
00:29:28we will see exactly what it
00:29:30says, but I know that
00:29:32I hope you will share that with us when the time
00:29:34is right. Well, I am certain that, again,
00:29:36once it is there and the commissioner
00:29:38and we apply, you know,
00:29:40a commissioner will certainly be
00:29:42the one to make that decision, but
00:29:44certainly, there is a lot of room
00:29:46for improvement in terms of that
00:29:48particular area. I think
00:29:50that you see more and
00:29:52more, especially
00:29:54this year, that the police has
00:29:56really gone beyond
00:29:58as we continue to really
00:30:00embrace a more community partnership
00:30:02and also that community engagement
00:30:04going along, so I am
00:30:06expecting to see, before the end
00:30:08of the year, an increase
00:30:10not, again, I am not
00:30:12expecting miracles, but I am certainly
00:30:14an increase and improvement over what it
00:30:16was last year, but as we continue,
00:30:18I am confident, especially
00:30:20with the drive that we
00:30:22are having, especially from the
00:30:24divisions and the way that we are going
00:30:26out having more town meetings,
00:30:28we are having more of those
00:30:30personal engagement, one-on-one.
00:30:32We believe that we are going to see
00:30:34a positive turnaround in that area
00:30:36until we probably might even surpass
00:30:38at some point in time
00:30:40what was there before.
00:30:42Fair enough, and of course
00:30:44we will remain optimistic on that note
00:30:46as we go forward, so let's take a look
00:30:48at these video clips here.
00:30:50DCP,
00:30:52one involves
00:30:54a double shooting
00:30:56in Lavant Hill, I believe it's at
00:30:58Ovid Alley, yesterday afternoon.
00:31:00Allegedly, gang
00:31:02related again, two
00:31:04young gentlemen losing their lives
00:31:06again, a third is in hospital, I
00:31:08understand, also
00:31:10nursing gunshot injuries
00:31:14and it seems that the gang
00:31:16rivalry and
00:31:18the gang warfare
00:31:20is a perpetual thing that continues
00:31:22even as
00:31:24the police try to get a handle
00:31:26on it.
00:31:28There hasn't been
00:31:30obscenity in that area
00:31:32of the killings, right?
00:31:34But my question is
00:31:36separate and apart from
00:31:38there being a double murder yesterday
00:31:40is, I was
00:31:42not able to pose the question, I think, to Mr.
00:31:44Alley on Wednesday
00:31:46but why was the
00:31:48gang unit in Porter Speed Division
00:31:50dismantled and not
00:31:52I know there are different divisions
00:31:54have different gang units but there's
00:31:56apparently not one centric
00:31:58to Porter Speed where
00:32:00there's a lot of gang related activity
00:32:02on the outskirts and
00:32:04a lot of gang related
00:32:06you know. I would
00:32:08like to get that answer.
00:32:10Thank you so much. That's a lovely question.
00:32:12So let's start. First of all
00:32:14let me just say
00:32:16the motive for the killing is something that
00:32:18again, we are working on
00:32:20at the present to see that it was
00:32:22totally gang related.
00:32:24Unless gang related.
00:32:26The jury is out where that is concerned
00:32:28Nevertheless the police continue to
00:32:30do our investigations
00:32:32into the matter and
00:32:34certainly we believe that once
00:32:36we have cogent evidence
00:32:38we are going to bring perpetrators to justice.
00:32:40But we are certainly working very hard as well
00:32:42to see how we can address
00:32:44that particular issue that took place there
00:32:46yesterday. That being said
00:32:48in terms of the
00:32:50dismantling
00:32:52of the gang unit
00:32:54you have to understand that
00:32:56the SIU
00:32:58is also a department within the
00:33:00TTPS and they are also
00:33:02more or less within
00:33:04the Port of Spain
00:33:06area and
00:33:08in seeking to
00:33:10ensure that we don't have a duplicity
00:33:12of
00:33:14duties
00:33:16because what we are doing
00:33:18can also mirror what is
00:33:20done by the SIU.
00:33:22It was in the best interest that we
00:33:24seek to
00:33:26deal with that situation
00:33:28in that way.
00:33:30Again these things are
00:33:32strategic decisions that are made
00:33:34and again it's because we have looked
00:33:36at the overall picture and
00:33:38looked at what is in the best interest.
00:33:40Keep in mind that more and more
00:33:42we need persons in the station
00:33:44and if we can
00:33:46find ways to reduce the amount
00:33:48of sections we have in
00:33:50and have more persons in the station
00:33:52we believe that persons who are
00:33:54going out there with that kind of experience
00:33:56would be able to be a greater asset
00:33:58to the station.
00:34:00There is a lot of positive that could come out
00:34:02of this and should not be seen as a negative
00:34:04and therefore the police service
00:34:06continues to make, the commissioner
00:34:08as well as the executive, continues to make
00:34:10decisions in the best
00:34:12interest of the police service.
00:34:14Just remember call us
00:34:16at 623 1711
00:34:18extensions 1992,
00:34:201993 and 1997.
00:34:22We're going to take a short break
00:34:24and we'll be right back.
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00:36:38Welcome back to Beyond the Tape.
00:36:40Of course, I want to remind callers
00:36:42623-1711 extensions
00:36:441992,
00:36:461993,
00:36:48and 1997.
00:36:50Please be vigilant, of course.
00:36:52Let's take a look at this
00:36:54DCP Benjamin and give us your
00:36:56impressions and thoughts on this
00:36:58newscast.
00:37:00Benjamin,
00:37:02welcome back to Beyond the Tape.
00:37:04How are you?
00:37:06And give us your impressions and thoughts
00:37:08on this video.
00:37:14So if you can, I'm seeing a
00:37:16lady opening the gate here
00:37:18to, I assume it's her
00:37:20premises.
00:37:22Maybe someone else is
00:37:24the driver of the vehicle.
00:37:26She's casually opening the
00:37:28gate here
00:37:30so that the vehicle, I believe,
00:37:32can reverse into
00:37:34the compound.
00:37:36So she has turned her back kind of ways, I guess
00:37:38in the comfort zone of being
00:37:40at home.
00:37:42And the vehicle
00:37:44reverses
00:37:46into the premises.
00:37:50And there is a
00:37:52car passing on the road, it seems,
00:37:54heavily tinted.
00:37:58She walks very nonchalantly
00:38:00until the other half of the gate closes.
00:38:02The car stops, you see her
00:38:04light.
00:38:06And you can
00:38:08see here, like she recognizes
00:38:10a gentleman coming and
00:38:12she now
00:38:14seeks to run for
00:38:16safety. The gentleman comes in
00:38:18to her premises.
00:38:20And I mean,
00:38:22this is really, I can imagine,
00:38:24enough to traumatize
00:38:26any person.
00:38:28You know, and this is so
00:38:30sad.
00:38:32But again,
00:38:34it begs the question that we
00:38:36need to be so very
00:38:38vigilant, even when we
00:38:40seek to come
00:38:42into our homes, that
00:38:44again, we don't know who is watching. You need to
00:38:46always look around,
00:38:48make sure that anything
00:38:50suspicious, that you are able
00:38:52to identify
00:38:54it. I think one of the good things
00:38:56that I'm seeing here is the fact that her
00:38:58home had some level of
00:39:00cameras so that we are able to
00:39:02still be able to have this
00:39:04footage and that could help us in some way
00:39:06as we seek to really scrutinize
00:39:08it some more.
00:39:10But again,
00:39:12I think she didn't get enough time to close that
00:39:14gate. She probably had to lock
00:39:16the gate, but because when she saw the
00:39:18occupant, the assailant, running,
00:39:20watch, she panicked.
00:39:22First thing is to get to the house, so she probably didn't
00:39:24get a chance to lock the gate.
00:39:26And that is why he probably gained entry.
00:39:28But,
00:39:30PCP Benjamin, we are seeing such
00:39:32an upsurge across the country.
00:39:34I don't know if you have statistics,
00:39:36but we do
00:39:38have a caller on the line, so we will take their call
00:39:40and then we'll continue the discussion. Caller, good afternoon.
00:39:42Good evening,
00:39:44gentlemen.
00:39:46I just want to let you
00:39:48all know of a situation
00:39:50that occurred
00:39:52this morning with
00:39:54PCP Benjamin. I called
00:39:56the Western Police Station
00:39:58to report
00:40:00annoying nuisance and lead smoking,
00:40:02etc., in an area
00:40:04close to where I live.
00:40:06And I was told by a young officer that there is
00:40:08no patrol tonight.
00:40:10I don't want to stand
00:40:12the thing that some
00:40:14officers over there tell members
00:40:16of the public.
00:40:18And, you know,
00:40:20officer,
00:40:22I realize from this observation
00:40:24and reading
00:40:26that if you ask ten
00:40:28senior officers
00:40:30why the law against
00:40:32noise pollution is not being enforced, you get ten
00:40:34different explanations, ten different answers.
00:40:36But, Mr. Bichang, in closing,
00:40:38I would like to ask you,
00:40:40if it's possible, that you can do an exposé
00:40:42on noise pollution in Trinidad and Tobago
00:40:44because it's a
00:40:46widespread issue.
00:40:48People are suffering,
00:40:50we are getting as citizens,
00:40:52we report in a report,
00:40:54exclusive explanations,
00:40:56different views on what the
00:40:58law is, and we are going around in circles,
00:41:00and the police seems
00:41:02to be infected,
00:41:04and the government seems to be unaware.
00:41:06The media also seems to be
00:41:08unaware. I thank you all
00:41:10gentlemen. Thank you.
00:41:12PCP Benjamin. Let me just say,
00:41:14this is something that especially you find
00:41:16a lot of times around the
00:41:18Carnival period in the
00:41:20Woodbrook area. These are some of the complaints
00:41:22just recently had a discussion
00:41:24with the Mayor of Port of Spain,
00:41:26where we looked at that situation,
00:41:28and we even
00:41:30looked and agreed on certain things,
00:41:32even as I spoke with the Commissioner of Police,
00:41:34in terms of going forward,
00:41:36the length of time when they are
00:41:38having these trucks on the road,
00:41:40what time we want to put so that
00:41:42persons could have some
00:41:44bit of comfort in that
00:41:46noise cannot go beyond a certain
00:41:48time, and so forth. These are
00:41:50issues that
00:41:52continue to weigh its head,
00:41:54but we would continue to deal with it
00:41:56decisively. We believe that
00:41:58again, everything must be done based on the
00:42:00law. We must look at the times,
00:42:02we must understand that in situations
00:42:04like these, you need to have the EMA there,
00:42:06so that we need to know exactly
00:42:08that the noise is
00:42:10passing its legal limit, and
00:42:12so forth. So it is not something that we can
00:42:14clearly just go and just shut
00:42:16down everything like that. Understand as well
00:42:18that we must look at
00:42:20even when we are dealing
00:42:22with these issues,
00:42:24you might have a situation
00:42:26where, again, time
00:42:28is one of those things.
00:42:30When we get there,
00:42:32and the time is, let's say,
00:42:34after 10, there is one
00:42:36level of
00:42:38noise that might be acceptable,
00:42:40that might not be. But
00:42:42noise pollution on a whole
00:42:44can also be something
00:42:46of a nuisance. And when we talk nuisance,
00:42:48we need to show that not just one or two
00:42:50people are affected, but a
00:42:52wide range. So it is something very difficult
00:42:54to prove. If it's public nuisance,
00:42:56it is something the police could deal with.
00:42:58If we can prove that it is for a large
00:43:00range of people that are being
00:43:02affected. If it is private nuisance,
00:43:04it is a civil matter, and that is something
00:43:06that that person can take up
00:43:08by carrying that person to
00:43:10the police station.
00:43:12So, that is the answer of
00:43:14CIVILI.
00:43:16That is the answer of your input.
00:43:18Time is going so quickly. We have to take another break,
00:43:20and we'll be back.
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00:45:32called the program and spoke highly of him that while he was in training, he could have seen the quality of the gentleman.
00:45:45And Celine spoke of him when he agreed. So I guess, I think I need to mention that because he was,
00:45:52and I mean I don't know the guy, I don't know the potential, but he was given high regard.
00:45:58And I think in the crime level, in the first place, I was just wondering,
00:46:07why don't we call back Senior Sue and that sort of thing.
00:46:13But also by forcing what he's done. I know there are issues with him and the executive body.
00:46:21It would be nice for him to come back down.
00:46:29Yeah, you know, let me just say, Officer Alexander is one of, you know, he's one of the favorites.
00:46:37And he's, again, for me, one of the officers, again, that understands what happens on the ground.
00:46:43And we appreciate that. We also recognize that even as I look at the divisional commanders
00:46:48that we have in charge of our division, I am really extremely proud of those officers
00:46:54because each of us brings something to the table. And it is important that we understand that.
00:47:01We have competent officers, and not just one officer, but we have competent officers
00:47:07as divisional commanders, as assistant commissioners.
00:47:10And therefore, the police service is not in any jeopardy at all.
00:47:15We believe when we look into the windscreen of our future, we have a lot of educated, qualified,
00:47:21competent officers that are able to take the police service to the next level.
00:47:25So I believe that the officers that we have here, they are working very hard and they are excellent officers.
00:47:31And I would really think, even though, yes, you know, I know that Officer Alexander,
00:47:35and he continues to even make his mark, even though he's not in, he's contributing, you know,
00:47:41to even assisting at this time. We have competent officers as well
00:47:46that are continuing to keep the fight against the criminals.
00:47:49Well answered. So we're moving on again. You said you want to talk a lot, right?
00:47:54Caller, good afternoon.
00:47:58Hello, good night.
00:47:59Good afternoon.
00:48:00Good afternoon to you, Officer. Officer, good night.
00:48:04Good night.
00:48:05It's been two years now since I stole my car.
00:48:09And the central police station hasn't called me back concerning my car.
00:48:17And it's overbearing now, you know?
00:48:20What is the legal section is doing? They haven't called me, nobody.
00:48:26In two years, October coming, I get two years.
00:48:30You understand? I'm 58 years.
00:48:32Where am I going to save up money now to buy a next car? You tell me.
00:48:37You understand? So can somebody get in contact with me and ask me where my car is now?
00:48:46Can I come?
00:48:48Yes. And let me just again apologize on behalf of the service.
00:48:55You know, once it is something that we should do, one of the areas that we're really working on
00:49:00is to really see how we can have that, you know, follow up.
00:49:05Because when an offense takes place, a person needs to know that the police came.
00:49:09And that is one of the things that is high on our agenda,
00:49:12especially as I deal with, you know, the officers in our ComStat meetings.
00:49:16We are really working on seeking to put within the culture of the police officer
00:49:22that is in the divisions and that is in the station.
00:49:25That when an offense takes place, that not only do we respond on time,
00:49:29but that there is that level of follow up so a person could know exactly what is happening.
00:49:34So again, if we can, if I can get the name and so on,
00:49:39I'm certainly going to work on that to give you some level of comfort
00:49:43to know exactly what is happening with your vehicle.
00:49:45Mr. Benjamin, I know I've heard a couple of people who have spoken to me over a period of time
00:49:51say that there's quite a process involved in when your car is stolen.
00:49:57And you could walk us through the protocols, of course,
00:50:00but that's quite a lengthy time when it's recovered before they actually get their vehicle back.
00:50:06And I understand that the police have to do certain things in there,
00:50:08lift for fingerprints, so on and so forth.
00:50:11Do the due diligence, hopefully with the premise of catching the criminal
00:50:16or criminals involved in stealing our car,
00:50:19because we know stealing our car has a lot of connotations now.
00:50:22It's used to put on a lot of robberies, et cetera, et cetera, violent crime.
00:50:26You know that.
00:50:27So what is the protocol, if you can, for clarity for the caller and, of course, for others,
00:50:33because three years is a long, long time to have your stolen car recovered and sitting at a police station.
00:50:40Yes, certainly.
00:50:41And I wouldn't go to think that it might even be unacceptable, you know what I'm saying,
00:50:45in terms of the standard that we want to uphold.
00:50:47Nevertheless, that being said, it is important to, again, also understand exactly in those situations,
00:50:53sometimes there's issues with the chassis number and all the different things.
00:50:58So you have to probably even get licensing involved.
00:51:01So the process itself is not just as simple as just extracting fingerprints and get back the vehicle.
00:51:08Normally you would want to take a picture of the vehicle as well so that you have it there, you know,
00:51:13so that you can, it's a matter for court purposes.
00:51:17But, again, if it's a matter where the chassis has been tampered with and all the different things,
00:51:21we have to go through all the different things, and it might take longer than expected.
00:51:26But, nevertheless, I'm saying if a person is constantly informed as to what is happening,
00:51:31it sort of gives that level of comfort that, hello, you know what is happening.
00:51:36But it's when, again, we treat people in ways where they are not informed that they feel even more offended.
00:51:44And I think that we need to work on that.
00:51:47It is an area that certainly I think we must be big enough to identify that these are areas that we must work on.
00:51:54And I do apologize, and I can say that in the future that should be something of the past.
00:52:00Well, we are certainly hopeful that the caller will have that matter resolved with the assistance of DCP Benjamin
00:52:06and other officers at the Central Police Station.
00:52:09But we do have another caller.
00:52:11Caller, good afternoon.
00:52:13Good afternoon.
00:52:17Yes, go ahead.
00:52:19I would like to make a contribution to the program Beyond the Tape.
00:52:25Over the last 15 to 20 years, I've been meeting face-to-face with police officers in meetings,
00:52:34calling Beyond the Tape, and making one solid recommendation, 15 to 20 years now,
00:52:41that all I'm saying, that if we are interested in reducing crime in Trinidad and Tobago,
00:52:49let the licensing authority alone make number plates for vehicles.
00:52:57That intervention alone will give the police more than 90 percent of a handle on crime.
00:53:07Because as we in Trinidad know, most of the crimes are committed with vehicles.
00:53:15And we have, in the last 15 years, 20 years, I've been saying it to the face of police officers at every level.
00:53:24Why is that so difficult to do?
00:53:28You can go by anybody and pay for a number plate in 15 minutes.
00:53:33More than 20 years I've been talking face-to-face with senior police officers.
00:53:38I don't think that we are interested in crime.
00:53:41That single intervention will make your life so much easier and people in Trinidad more comfortable.
00:53:49That one intervention.
00:53:51It doesn't cost a million dollars.
00:53:53Thank you very much.
00:53:56Yes, and let me just say, I don't know, but I probably have good news for you, caller.
00:54:02Because probably you have called and you have spoken.
00:54:08And I think that we can say that the licensing authority has heard, the police service has heard.
00:54:14Because that is something that I believe will be coming very soon into the mix.
00:54:21And I don't want to say much on it, but I believe that certainly as we look into the future of the police service
00:54:28and how we can deal with crime.
00:54:31Suggestions like that are suggestions that we would want to take and has been taken into consideration.
00:54:37And you will see in time to come, something very similar to what is being said will be enacted
00:54:44so that we can ensure that we can deal with crime from a more strategic standpoint.
00:54:49I do recall that the Minister of Finance had spoken about electronic plates.
00:54:56Maybe about two years ago now.
00:54:59And I would want to say that not just the licensing authority, but maybe you have specific licensed people.
00:55:07You know, like how we go to the inspection stations outside of the licensing office
00:55:11who are registered as a testing station to also have these people registered to be part of that process
00:55:20of administering or giving electronic number plates out to the public.
00:55:26Because if you just have the licensing authority at one building or two buildings you have to go to,
00:55:31it's very difficult for you to, you know, basically the lines are going to be long.
00:55:37Certainly, certainly. And you're absolutely right.
00:55:39And the DCP Intelligence and Investigation, DCP Martin, is constantly in conversation with the licensing authority.
00:55:50And they are, again, dealing with these issues.
00:55:54I'm just saying that it is on the table. It is on the burner.
00:55:57And these things are things that will be seen shortly, even as we seek to improve the way that we do things.
00:56:04Great. All right. We'll have a lot more to talk about when we get back from this break.
00:56:09Please stay with us.
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00:58:05Welcome back to Beyond the Tape. I'm your host, Mark Bassad.
00:58:08Of course, joined today by DCP Junior Benjamin.
00:58:11And I know that the police service, in spite of all that is happening,
00:58:15they must take time, of course, to also congratulate or award those that are trying to make that difference.
00:58:22And I know that we actually have some images of said.
00:58:26Yes. So, especially from the DCP operation standpoint,
00:58:30one of the things that we have is what we call, you know, turning the ship around,
00:58:36operation turning the ship around.
00:58:38This is where we're going to various divisions and really speaking with the officers.
00:58:43This, in particular, is the Western Division.
00:58:45And again, I want to congratulate Senior Superintendent Henry and his team down at the Western Division
00:58:51where they were able to, again, from, again, the awards that was given by the Commission of Police for firearms,
00:58:57they were able to, at least in that meeting, give out some specific awards to persons who contributed to the crime situation,
00:59:07those persons who helped in terms of tickets and also bringing in our firearms.
00:59:13So, to all the persons there, we want to just, again, congratulate them.
00:59:18And also, just to the Western Division on a whole, they're doing a tremendous job down there.
00:59:21And I want to, you know, just encourage them to continue the fight as we continue to, you know, prolong the crime situation.
00:59:29And I know that it's always difficult because, you know, the public is so critical of the TTPS's role
00:59:36and how they are handling the present situation.
00:59:39So, in spite of that, of course, there will always be a pushback.
00:59:42There will always be adversity.
00:59:44But in the midst of that, there are those that are still trying their best to make a difference.
00:59:49Yes, and that is exactly, I think, when you decide to join the police service.
00:59:54For me, even as I look back from my journey to where I am today, that has been my mantra.
01:00:00It's never too late to change.
01:00:02It's never too late to learn.
01:00:04It's never too late to dream.
01:00:06And it's never too late to make a difference.
01:00:08And certainly, that has gone with me and I think so many other officers that continue to make their contribution.
01:00:13We might not get the applause of men, but it's so good ever so often to just stop and tell the officers thanks.
01:00:19Thanks for leaving your home, coming out and doing the job.
01:00:23And even when no one recognizes, you know, the police service, the executive, we do recognize.
01:00:28And again, we really want to just show that other side of policing with our officers.
01:00:33We really do appreciate the hard work and commitment and devotion of our officers.
01:00:38So, this is going to be something that is ongoing.
01:00:39You'll go to other divisions and also, you know, give our words to those that are also excelling in various areas, yes?
01:00:47Well, I have already gone to at least eight of the ten divisions.
01:00:52So, I have two more divisions to go.
01:00:54Again, every division, the divisional commander will probably do different things.
01:00:59But the idea is that we go and we take time to listen to the officers because those officers have some tremendous concerns as well.
01:01:06And sometimes nobody is taking the time to listen to the officers.
01:01:10So, what we're doing is really taking the time to listen, hear, you know, talk about the difficult questions.
01:01:16You know, let them know what is happening in terms of where we are right now and what needs to be put in place
01:01:22even as we seek to implement the violence reduction plan of the commissioner.
01:01:26How are we going to do it? And really boost that morale of the officers.
01:01:30And I must say we are getting some very good traction.
01:01:32Even down in the west, we had like a hundred and more persons.
01:01:36In the east, we had like a hundred and fifteen.
01:01:38Tobago, we had a hundred and thirteen.
01:01:40So, it has been getting some positive traction in terms of just meeting with the officers.
01:01:44Wonderful. Well, we have to leave it at that for today.
01:01:48And certainly, we still await the commissioner's appearance on our program.
01:01:53And I'm sure she will grace us with her presence.
01:01:56Soon, repeat tonight at 11.25.
01:02:00Up next, the TV6 News with an exclusive.
01:02:03Stay tuned.
01:02:05Till then, later.
01:02:25.
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