- 1 year ago
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00You
00:30Beyond the tape, we'll be back after these messages.
00:39At Cruise Inn Hotel and Yachting Center, we're all about time.
00:43In fact, once you check in, there's no time to lose.
00:47Reconnect with a little family time.
00:50Make a splash with some pool time.
00:53Spend some treasured quality time or just immerse yourself in some quiet time.
00:58Indulge your senses at dinner time.
01:01We even have the perfect venue when it's your celebration time.
01:05So it's high time you visit Cruise Inn.
01:08Choose our day pass or call 607-4000 to make your dinner or hotel reservations or to find
01:16out more about our event spaces.
01:18Make a time out at Cruise Inn Hotel and Yachting Center.
01:23Hi guys, I want to talk to you about the fact that there's a lot of Sahara dust in the atmosphere
01:34these days and what we can do to help manage that.
01:37The first tip is to keep an eye on weather forecasts and forecasts from the Environmental
01:41Management Authority.
01:43The second is to always carry your reliever and preventer inhalers if you have a history
01:48of asthma and also your nasal sprays if you have a history of nasal allergies.
01:53Also, you want to make sure you're using things like salt water or saline nasal washouts and
01:59rinses and stay indoors if you get a high level alert.
02:05Keep safe and thanks for listening.
02:07The number one digital news publication in TNT, the Trinidad Express ePaper gives you
02:12more ways to subscribe.
02:14Whatever your style, we've got you covered.
02:17Call.
02:18Email.
02:19Download the Trinidad Express app for Apple or Android or visit digital.trinidadexpress.com
02:25and begin your journey into the enhanced ePaper experience.
02:29Enjoy bonus pictures and videos with select stories.
02:32Get articles translated into 11 languages.
02:35Use the convenient voice reader function when you're on the move.
02:38Sign up customized alerts and never miss a story with access to past editions at your fingertips.
02:44The Trinidad Express ePaper gives you more ways to subscribe.
02:47Sign up today for a free 90-day trial.
03:03Good evening.
03:04Welcome to Beyond the Tape.
03:05I'm your host, Marc Bessant.
03:07Of course, we have a lot to speak about today.
03:11One of the most startling things occurred this morning.
03:14Just a few blocks away from here, rapid gunfire echoing throughout East Dry River, Port of
03:21Spain along Nelson Street that left at least three persons shot and injured.
03:29Earlier today, about three hours before this incident, there was actually the shooting
03:35death of a guy by the name of Kenneth Spee along Lavantier Road near Fromage Street.
03:42Police believe that this might have been a reprisal shooting for that particular murder
03:48that took place.
03:49Incidentally, there was also a murder earlier on this morning as well as Enterprise Chagones.
03:56Somebody I believe by the name of Sean Joseph was shot and killed.
04:01He was wearing a Chagones Borough Corporation t-shirt and khaki pants.
04:06I want to believe he might have been a worker.
04:09There was also an unfortunate incident last night involving a PH taxi driver by the name
04:15of Earl James who apparently was stabbed to death in the Keurip area.
04:23His car was taken by the attackers which kind of propelled us to about, I believe, 505 murders
04:33for the year.
04:34And of course, another interesting story that has been topical over the last week, and we
04:41had a press conference this afternoon where DCP Junior Benjamin spoke about police uniforms
04:48of course, and they're ensuring that only specific units are going to be wearing sitting
04:55tactical uniforms.
04:56And of course, no better person to speak about some of these things today than acting ESP
05:03Ishmael Pitt from the North, North, North, Northern, North Division.
05:10Welcome Seth.
05:11Yes.
05:12Yes.
05:13Pleasant evening, Mark.
05:14Pleasant evening, Sharon Tobago.
05:15Always a pleasure to be here and discuss issues.
05:16You know that policing is a demanding type of service.
05:21We know that at this point in time, the nation is within what we may call a dark period,
05:27but we trust that with the partnership that we continue to foster, that we continue to
05:34put that effort towards, we are going to overcome.
05:40And just to be clear that only this afternoon, a couple hours ago, DCP Benjamin in making
05:47an announcement saying that there are actually just four units are going to be allowed to
05:52wear tactical gear.
05:53That's GB, IATF, the National Operations Task Force, and MOPS.
05:58Now he spoke to a couple of senior officers after that announcement, and it did not go
06:04down well with some of them because we have divisional units like the task force that
06:11they are custom wearing tactical uniforms.
06:13How does that going to affect those units going forward in any capacity?
06:20Well, firstly, I would say this.
06:26We would make decisions based on what is in the best interest of the national community.
06:31We know that at this point in time, one of the uniforms that is easily replicated is
06:37that of the operational wear.
06:39Obviously, within any organization, there are persons who will have their varying views.
06:49In some instances, it might be noteworthy, it might be relevant, reasonable, but as a
06:58policing organization, we must ensure that the public is able to differentiate between
07:05police officers and persons who may be attempting to impersonate police officers.
07:14We must be able to meet that because it poses a significant challenge, generally speaking,
07:20even to us as police officers.
07:23As much as we are taking steps, we know that it may not sit well with everyone.
07:28We trust that going forward, we'll be able to do the necessary in terms of paving what
07:34we may call a long-term solution.
07:37It's at a time where the police is in a difficult period.
07:41We have also that matter of overtime as well.
07:46Some officers are saying, you know, young people start to become a little bit demotivated
07:51because you have an instance where somebody might be charged with a crime and then time's
07:56up, I'm going home, somebody else has to deal with this.
08:00I know there are certain intricacies, of course, of that overtime issue.
08:04Some saying that we have to have a system to monitor it better for the TTPS to operate
08:11in a more efficient manner.
08:13Of course, there's a runaway horse of people abusing that process, abusing overtime, which
08:21turns into an alleged racket of some sort.
08:25Of course, you all have to put a clamp down on that as well.
08:29A lot of dynamics here.
08:31Well, since I've mentioned the term racket, and I think that is a harsh term, what we
08:38would say is that as an organization, we are aware of our economic circumstance as a society,
08:45as a nation.
08:47For that reason, prudent financial decisions must be made.
08:52How it will impact persons, yes, it could impact persons, as I said before, in varying
08:57ways based on their circumstance, but, you know, the decisions at times that must be
09:02made, it must be made in the interest of the greater good, so to speak.
09:08It is always important for us to look at resources and look at resources holistically speaking
09:15and not just look at resources in terms of from an internal perspective.
09:19We know that the demands for policing, it has increased and it continues to increase,
09:24so for that reason, officers may be called upon to go further into what they would have
09:29normally been doing.
09:31We also are at a point where we may not have a full complement of officers or the full
09:36complement, we are working steadfast towards that in terms of bringing the organization
09:41up to that full strength, if you would call it that, and in that period, officers will
09:47be called upon to give more, you know, but it is a balancing act and heavy is the head
09:52that wears the crown, so having said that, yes, a lot of tough decisions are being made
09:58and it now puts us in a position where we have to navigate and we have to navigate well
10:05in these circumstances.
10:06How does your officers in your particular division, if you can, I'm sure would have
10:10had some good conversations with them following this press conference about the fact that
10:15starting from tomorrow, according to the departmental order issued by Commissioner of Police, Eula
10:21Hayward-Christopher, that these officers that are not in specific units must bring back
10:27in their tactical gear and they have until Wednesday next week and if they don't comply,
10:32disciplinary action will be taken against them.
10:34Have you had a discussion with any of your officers who feel a little bit, you know,
10:38taken aback by this decision because they are not in these special units, but it's important
10:43for them to have this tactical gear to execute certain exercises?
10:47Yeah, well, I've had discussions with some of the more senior officers and yes, by extension,
10:56they would have the communication with the junior officers.
10:59As I said before, you know, there are certain things that may not sit well, generally speaking,
11:04but tough decisions have to be made.
11:07It's a matter of we are a discipline service and in that regard, it is called upon us at
11:13times to adjust and to adjust quickly.
11:16We cannot deny the fact that, you know, given the role and function of some units, it might
11:22be better suited for a certain type of apparel.
11:25Nonetheless, that is why I mentioned that this may not be a decision in the long term.
11:32It could be an interim decision regarding where we are at at this point in time and
11:36the objectives that we must be able to achieve at this point in time.
11:40But going forward, you know, and given the dynamics, you know, different decisions will
11:45be made dependent on the circumstance.
11:48Most definitely.
11:49And of course, we will have a discussion a little more in detail about that going forward
11:53over the next hour.
11:54But for now, we're going to take a look at our headlines.
12:36Now, the issue of practicality of this area, as I said, I spoke to a number of officers
12:49that are in like task force and so on.
12:51And I just wanted to take us back to that press conference earlier today where DCP Junior
12:57Benjamin made that announcement.
13:00I just wanted to advise you to inform that from tomorrow, all officers, all officers
13:09in the regional branches are to be in patrol order number three.
13:13That is basically the green and blue.
13:16And you would see we have here officers to demonstrate the uniforms.
13:23When we talk about patrol order number three, we have an officer that will come just to
13:29show us when we talk about patrol order number three.
13:39All right.
13:40This is what we're talking about, patrol order number three.
13:45You will also see, as well, using the camouflage for the defense force.
13:53Again, under the Defense Force Act, you can also be fined and also face time imprisonment.
14:04We are going to ensure that we follow the law all the way and leave absolutely no stone
14:11unturned.
14:12We are using our intelligence at this time to guide us as we seek to address these issues.
14:19Quite quickly, of course, he also spoke about camouflage that is used by the Army.
14:27And you will be dealt with accordingly, as well.
14:30Of course.
14:31Of course.
14:32And you know, camouflage, it comes up from time to time because there are some persons
14:38who believe that, you know, camouflage or wearing of camouflage or being in possession
14:43of camouflage item is not against the law and it's perfectly normal.
14:47And for that reason, we have seen some what we may call unfortunate situations.
14:56We would want to encourage members of the public to be strictly law abiding.
15:00Please do not take chances with your liberty.
15:05There are some police officers who may, as we commonly say, exercise discretion.
15:10They may give you a blight.
15:13And there are other officers who may carry out their duties to the strict letter of the law.
15:18We are not saying that the officer who probably gave you a blight, that he or she may not
15:22be entitled to do so.
15:24But we are also saying that the officer who may take you before the court to account is
15:28also entitled to do so.
15:30You are called upon as members of the public to do the right thing.
15:33And the right thing is to not be in possession of these items, be it apparel of the Defense
15:39Force, be it something resembling the apparel of the Defense Force, or any camouflage patterned
15:45item, regardless of color.
15:47And I know that just before we go to the big, you know, a lot of people have remarked that
15:51it's a very archaic law that we have here in Trinidad and Tobago.
15:55And I get what you're saying.
15:57And we are hopeful that those out there, those people who believe that they can bring in
16:02camouflage through, you know, customs and so on, where Mr. Simon would have said that
16:07we are looking at also clamping them in that area with the assistance of customs, of people
16:12bringing in paraphernalia or clothing that are not supposed to be brought into the country.
16:18So, we're going to take a short break, and when we get back, we'll talk a little bit
16:21more about this and other things.
16:30In every community, on every field of play, in every heart, the Ministry of Sport and
16:36Community Development is making a difference.
16:38From modern sports facilities to community empowerment programs, we've invested in you,
16:44the people who make Trinidad and Tobago stronger every day.
16:48Together, we've built a foundation for success, because when people and communities thrive,
16:53the nation excels.
16:55Ministry of Sport and Community Development, empowering our people, shaping our future.
17:01Introducing Master Astrologer Jaidev Paduval.
17:04He can solve any problem within days.
17:07Removal of evil spirits, negative energy, jealousy, witchcraft and much more.
17:12Specialist in bringing back your loved ones.
17:14He has solutions for problems with family, children, money, job, sexual problems and
17:19personal problems.
17:21100% guaranteed results.
17:23Expert Astrologer Jaidev Paduval.
17:26Call 377-2146 or visit at any location in Trinidad and Tobago.
17:32For 62 years, the Community Hospital of Seventh-day Adventist has been writing stories of recovery,
17:38resilience and renewal.
17:40Here, healing isn't just about medicine.
17:42It is about finding peace in a comfortable environment, strength in our state-of-the-art
17:46facilities and hope in every interaction.
17:48At the Community Hospital, we are more than your health care providers.
17:52We are your neighbors, your friends, your family in healing.
17:55Your journey to wellness begins with a single call.
17:58Let's write your story of healing together.
18:01For all your health care needs, give us a call at 622-1191 or visit our website,
18:09thecommunityhospital.org to make an appointment today.
18:13The Community Hospital of Seventh-day Adventist.
18:17Where good, private health care is affordable.
18:22Celebrate their lives with a special All Saints and All Souls Memorial in the Express Classifieds.
18:29Book today to honor your loved ones.
18:43Welcome back to Beyond the Tape.
18:47I'm your host, Mark Bess.
18:49And of course, joined today by acting ASP Ishmael Pitt of the Northern North Division.
18:54And we were just having a brief conversation before the break about camouflage.
19:02And we just want to shift gears here a little bit now and take you to a clip that was chilling
19:09and of course very scary for a lot of people including students and teachers
19:14at the Southeast Port of Spain Secondary that was just a mere block or two up the street from these sounds.
19:31So these were rapid gunfire.
19:34This was rapid gunfire around 10.30 this morning.
19:37And my understanding in that exchange of gunfire, three men were shot.
19:44I understand it was a gentleman by the name of Swain Weeks, Mark Joseph, both in critical,
19:51and Nathaniel Forbes, who was struck on the hand by a bullet.
19:55And in so doing, when this incident occurred, the police responded quite quickly.
20:01Yes.
20:02And they cordoned off the area in search, of course, of not just perpetrators,
20:08but finding the victims and taking them to seek medical attention.
20:14We have seen pockets of, Port of Spain has been generally kind of quiet over the last couple of weeks.
20:20And now we see this little pocket of, you know, shootings emerging because just a couple hours prior to this,
20:29there was the murder of a guy by the name of Kenneth Pierre.
20:33Yeah.
20:34Just up at Laventille Road there from a street.
20:38And police are saying that there's some kind of correlation between that killing
20:42and what might have transpired there, a possible reprisal or people coming back,
20:47hearing that maybe a person from this area was in some way responsible for that earlier shooting.
20:53Well, the investigation is very, very young at this particular point in time.
21:00And, you know, there are several motives by which our investigators are working with.
21:05We know that we have a firearm issue.
21:09There's a proliferation of firearms.
21:11And to add to it, there are so much heavy weaponry on our nation's streets.
21:16And we continue to ask members of the public who are in the know,
21:20please provide us with the information,
21:22because the whole issue of conflict management appears to be dealt with by the use of firearms,
21:31by the use of these violent attacks,
21:33as opposed to treating it in other, what we may call, civilized, decent means.
21:39And if it is we are able to eradicate the firearms,
21:41if it is we are to bring that type of safety and security to our nation's streets,
21:46it means to say now that our communities are going to be much better off.
21:49But we need to get the information, Mark.
21:52We need to get that type of intelligence that would provide our operational teams
21:58with the necessary for us to go and treat with the situation up front.
22:03So, citizens, you hear that.
22:05You all also have to play your part in getting that information to the police
22:10so that they can, you know, transform that information into whatever other information
22:14or put it together with what they have so that they can, as you said,
22:18go after the people that are responsible for various shootings, use of firearms, etc.
22:24And as we transcend or move away from that subject matter,
22:28another serious matter that was raised at the press conference today
22:32was that issue that deals with police vehicles, marked or unmarked,
22:41and whether or not, you know, one of my colleagues asked,
22:45in the dead of the night, should I stop?
22:48Should I go to the police station?
22:50Should I put my hand out and say, I'm going to the police station?
22:52Or if I try to flee, it gives them the impetus to want to shoot at me.
23:00Well, we can say straight out that our officers are trained to comply with our use of force policy.
23:08And they would use their firearms and would be guided based on those policies,
23:12based on the laws of Trinidad and Tobago.
23:14But your question in itself is a very relevant question, given our present circumstance.
23:22You know, a lot of persons, members of the public, they would be at that point
23:28where they are uncertain as to what action to take.
23:32And really and truly, it concretizes the decisions that we have to make now
23:38as an organization to ensure that those gray areas, those cloudy areas,
23:43are removed totally.
23:45The interesting thing you mentioned the word gray area,
23:48because I think in the response to one of my colleagues' questions,
23:54one of the officers, I can't recall who, said that make sure they're wearing gray,
24:00even if they're in a tinted vehicle, how can I tell what color they are wearing?
24:05And those are things that the average man will have to grapple with.
24:11What do I do? Do I stop? Or do I go?
24:14And I'm not saying, yes, use of force policies, if you engage the officer,
24:19you have a weapon of some sort.
24:21But this is some citizen who's afraid of stopping and decides that they will go to the nearest police station.
24:28We want people to make a very exercised judgment when it comes to that,
24:34so that we have all the factors and make the best decision possible to avoid any kind of harm.
24:40Yeah, and it might be easy in some circumstances to go to the nearest police station,
24:45but there are other situations where that might not be possible.
24:48So again, it places us back in a position where there's a level of uncertainty
24:54as to how one would respond.
24:56What I can say at this point in time, though,
24:58is that we are being very robust in guiding our officers regarding how they identify themselves.
25:09So we have our uniform in the first instance, and we are working on that,
25:13because we have recognized that persons have now been replicating in order to carry out criminality,
25:18the use of our badges and the use of our identification cards.
25:25One might argue that in a real-time situation,
25:28all these different means might not have that luxury of time in order for one to really express it,
25:36in order for one to show it, and so on and so forth.
25:39So it boils down to our judgment call,
25:41but there are a lot of things additional to what took place today is on the drawing board,
25:45and members of the public will be made aware soon
25:48as to how the organization is going to treat these issues going forward.
25:52And the paraphernalia, of course, these flashing blue lights,
25:57what does it say in terms of importing these kinds of lights?
26:04Because I know for a fact, I was told by a police source some time ago,
26:09that there was somebody in this country that sells these blue lights to alleged criminals,
26:16and they know of information that has come to their hands.
26:19So how are we to counteract that and to give the citizens that assurance
26:25that they can safely stop when they see a police vehicle?
26:30And I think that trust has won because of what has happened over the last couple of months.
26:34Yes, yes, yes, yes.
26:36And you've mentioned something there, very interesting.
26:40And if, again, persons have information as to persons being in possession of these items
26:45and more so selling it, then we would like to have that information so that we can address it.
26:50Because we have been observing what this type of behavior can result in.
26:55But having said that, the blue lights are indicative of police officers in the first instance.
27:01And if a police officer has to stop a vehicle with a member of the public who is in possession of these lights,
27:09in the first instance, you are in breach of what we may call unauthorized lights.
27:15So the lights have not been authorized by the transport commissioner for that vehicle.
27:20But then it goes on now to put you in a position where other types of investigations
27:26might be something that we would look at, considering what is going on in our general environment.
27:32So in the first instance, you may be looking at a traffic offense.
27:36But then the persons who are in possession of that might be sought regarding more serious offenses
27:42that we have been seeing happening.
27:44So we would want to ask members of the public, again, and you mentioned it there, Mark,
27:48if it is that you have any information at all as to anybody who might be in possession of these blue lights
27:54and you know for a fact they are not police officers or the vehicle that they are using is not a police vehicle,
28:01then please provide the information so we can take the appropriate action.
28:06Alright, and on that note, we are going to take a short break and we will be back. Stay with us.
28:18Guess what everyone?
28:19Today on our class trip to the Nature Seekers Center, we saw amazing animals
28:23and learned all about their solar bb system.
28:25That's wonderful, Dolly. Well, come and tell us more.
28:29They showed us how solar power works and how it is helping them save money and the environment.
28:33Wait, wait. You said save money? And we get to save the planet too?
28:37That sounds like something we should look into, sweetie.
28:39So, you have any more pictures?
28:41Yeah.
28:43Solar power to the people.
29:03665-3336 or 480-8715 or visit us at Warrenville, Canopia.
29:08Step into delight.
29:09Make the best choice for price, quality, and performance this Diwali with new appliances for your home.
29:15Choose from our expanded range, including new French door and side-by-side refrigerators,
29:19microwaves, ceramic cooktops with 4 or 5 burners, chest freezers, automatic washing machines, and much more.
29:26Enjoy the festival of light with new appliances for your home at an affordable price.
29:31The best range of appliances available nationwide.
29:47Welcome back to Beyond the Tape. I'm your host, Mark Bassan.
29:49Of course, joined by acting ASP Ishmael Pitt from the Northern North Division.
29:55And I do believe we have a caller on the line. Caller, good evening.
29:59Good evening to both of you.
30:01Evening, sir.
30:03I want to clarify two things.
30:05Yes, I called in yesterday.
30:07I found him. He wasn't very clear.
30:10When I speak about the Electoral College, we all met about five minutes.
30:19Government, opposition, and foreign senators.
30:23It's supposed to be somewhere around 70-something people.
30:26And unless they don't get together, we could fall from nowhere.
30:30They're great researchers. Nothing can be done.
30:34So, Mark, until then, what is happening right now?
30:38You have to start thinking.
30:40Safety first.
30:42Don't you?
30:47I wasn't too clear with the last part.
30:51I think he's alluding to the fact that specific decisions have to be made.
30:58Of course, we know that we must have the support of the opposition in some cases.
31:04We have seen areas in other countries.
31:08For instance, in Jamaica, I visited there during a state of emergency.
31:14They had a spate of killings in Montego Bay and so on.
31:18It's a very touristy area.
31:20I spent a couple of days there doing a story.
31:22They had to go to the Parliament to get the support of the opposition.
31:27To, of course, continuously extend that state of emergency.
31:32Until they felt satisfied that the murder rate was controllable.
31:39They had army personnel entering the parish and leaving the parish.
31:43They searched everybody.
31:45Vehicles, whether it be work vehicles, trucks, vans, everything.
31:50I think there must be that unison.
31:53We're not going to be playing politics here.
31:56There are certain laws that the politicians have to sit in Parliament and discuss.
32:02They have to get the support of the majority of the opposition at times.
32:08We want to stay clear of that, of course.
32:11But we know that everybody has to play their part.
32:14We want to show you a very disturbing video.
32:20This has been a very topical issue over the last week to two weeks.
32:25Involving bullying.
32:27We had the unfortunate death of Jidan Lalchan who died by suicide.
32:32One or two other incidents from Tobago where a young girl was bullied and so on.
32:38We have a very disturbing video here that we are about to show you.
32:42That took place somewhere in the Faizabad area after school.
32:55We're looking at the SP pit.
32:58If you can walk us through.
33:00A gentleman there standing, a young boy with a bunch of friends.
33:06What are you seeing there?
33:08You said it.
33:09It appears to be a group of young persons, more so children, who are gathered.
33:17In this exact clip that we are seeing here is one student assaulting another student.
33:24And the student that is assaulting him just moments before placed what appears to be a ski mask on his head.
33:31And attacks the student from behind.
33:35This is not behavior we would like to see at all.
33:42That's right.
33:44And I understand that the mother would have spoken to one of the newspapers, I believe yesterday.
33:51This attack happened three weeks ago, Mr. Pitt.
33:55And the mother in speaking to the media has said that she has followed all the steps possible
34:02to ensure that in some way something happens that will assist in bringing this perpetrator to some type of justice.
34:11Yes.
34:12Her son is suffering immensely.
34:14Three weeks now he has not been able to attend school.
34:16He also has a lot of head and neck pains.
34:19He's still doing tests.
34:21It is believed that some kind of weapon was used in the attack, allegedly a brass knuckle.
34:30I mean, where in God's name did he even get a brass knuckle to attack this young boy from behind?
34:38Well, what I can say at this time, Mark, this incident is subject to an investigation.
34:47It involves, in fact, children.
34:51And for that reason there are certain protocols attached in the way we address it.
34:59It is an unfortunate incident.
35:03It is one where any parent who is looking on would feel some type of way.
35:10And we are encouraging our children to be that type of product that could go forward and make our country as a whole a more productive society.
35:23And when we see this type of behavior, you know, it tells us that we have a lot of work to do.
35:29We have a lot of work to do in our homes.
35:32We have a lot of work to do even at the schools.
35:34We have a lot of work to do in the community.
35:36And that issue of how we treat with conflict, that issue of how we resolve issues generally is one that we need to explore.
35:47And we need to bring our children to that position where they understand that violence is not the response that would be appropriate, that would be accepted, and that is indicative of a society as ours.
36:00Most definitely.
36:01I do believe we have a caller on the line.
36:03Caller, good afternoon.
36:05Yes, good afternoon.
36:07Good afternoon to this panel.
36:09What?
36:11Yes.
36:13We are hearing you.
36:15Go ahead.
36:17Okay.
36:21I am calling on a serious matter here.
36:23Okay.
36:27I went to the police station last night to make a report.
36:29I am from the east.
36:31And trying to explain the police a serious matter concerning a three-year-old child.
36:38I hope I can talk because I am hooked, right?
36:42So, this child was three years.
36:44It is supposed to be three years next month.
36:46They might have chopped him up in the abbey.
36:48And the child is missing now.
36:50That is my grandchild.
36:52Nobody tells me.
36:54Okay.
36:56Caller, if it is possible, I recognize this situation is one that is very sensitive.
37:03And if it is possible, if you can leave your number, provide your number off-air,
37:09and we will definitely reach you, communicate with you, and have the issue addressed.
37:17Caller?
37:19Yes.
37:21Okay, great.
37:23So, we are hopeful that that child will be returned and be found safe and sound.
37:27Yes.
40:20Perfect man.
40:24That's exactly what we need.
40:26Hi, what was this for?
40:30Whatever we're here for.
40:32Whatever we're here for.
40:34We're here for YOU.
40:36Stay smart.
40:38At the Holiday Inn Express.
40:40And Sweets.
40:44Now this is radical trading.
40:46and them have everything to cover anything.
40:49Radica Trading have the best fabric designs for your poster in this year.
40:53Furniture, car, boat, and even material for school bags.
40:57This will look really nice on my couch boy.
41:00They even make a pillow too.
41:02It's frank.
41:03Oui.
41:04Those shorts are for get for money.
41:05Serious?
41:06Take the pay for it for me.
41:07Me and my big mouth boy, I wonder if Radica get thing to cover mouth yet.
41:12Radica Trading, four locations nationwide.
41:15My name is Dr. Stephen Carroll, the CEO at Community Hospital of Seventh Day Adventist.
41:21And we are committed to making good private healthcare affordable.
41:26For all your medical needs, including dental, radiology, laparoscopy, behavioral and mental health,
41:32along with many other services, contact us for more information at 235-54-79.
41:39Community Hospital of Seventh Day Adventist.
41:43Where good private healthcare is affordable.
41:48The Trinidad Express Newspapers is making changes to enhance the reader experience.
41:53Our back page will now carry the second biggest story of the day,
41:57making the inside back just one turn away from the number two most viewed spot in the newspaper.
42:03With your message here, you get more visibility, more awareness, more impact and more results.
42:09So don't wait.
42:10Take advantage of our special introductory rate and get in the back of the Trinidad Express Newspapers.
42:28Welcome back to Beyond the Tape.
42:29I'm here with Mark Bessant, of course, joined today by ASP Ishmael Pitt from the Northern North Division.
42:35And we're going to go to our caller immediately.
42:38Caller, good afternoon.
42:40Good evening, good afternoon.
42:42Good evening, sir.
42:43Yes, sir, good evening, sir.
42:44Let me tell you, during the budget, the finance minister, when he talked about the money being allocated for the
42:53and also the Chantilego Police Service, when he wants to purchase over 2,000 vehicles for the CDPS.
43:01My question to you, does the Commissioner of Police have more than half, or they remain still higher,
43:07or have an enhanced mechanical and street negligence within the CDPS,
43:11like how the Chantilego Defence Force did about their own vehicles?
43:14Because what I'm asking is, I went up to Komoto recently and saw you have a vast amount of police vehicles,
43:21motorcycles and things up there, and I know for sure some of them,
43:24why there may be mechanical problems, some of the street problems.
43:27So, instead of running to buy 2,000 brand new vehicles,
43:31you end up in the same scenario that you want to all pack up now.
43:34That's my question.
43:35Can the Commissioner?
43:40I think we lost him there, but...
43:41Yes, well, I got the gist of his question.
43:43And what I will do, caller, I will get some feedback where that is concerned,
43:49and on the next occasion, provide him with the response.
43:52I do think that the private contractors are doing the maintenance on the vehicles, if memory serves me right.
43:57Of course, but he's asking now if we can treat it internally, if the Commissioner can hire persons internally.
44:02But then, also, I would have done a story a couple of days ago about vehicles,
44:06if new vehicles have been purchased and so on.
44:08And one of the things is that, even if you repair those, there's still a shortage of vehicles,
44:13you still need to add to the fleet.
44:16So, hence the reason why, because when you bring in these new vehicles,
44:20some vehicles will go down, or have been down,
44:23and then you bring in some, and some go down again.
44:25So, you're still a little bit short.
44:27A former senior officer also brought that to my attention.
44:30Back in 2020, they also had that kind of problem.
44:33And by the time COVID came around, and certain vehicles were ordered,
44:37other vehicles went down, and then they were still short.
44:41So, it's a perennial problem.
44:44I do believe we have another caller on the line.
44:47Caller, good evening.
44:48Charles, a pleasant evening.
44:50Good evening, ma'am.
44:51I haven't heard from you in a very long time.
44:53And it's nice to see you, Mr. Bassan.
44:57It's very nice to see you.
44:58I'm more encouraged than ever before.
45:00I have two questions.
45:01Mr. Pitt.
45:02Yes, ma'am.
45:03Good evening.
45:05Right?
45:07And it doesn't have a law in which that they can be charged or something like that.
45:15Because if, you know, they run away from home, you know,
45:18it's kind of like they are wasting the police time, right?
45:23And I see the resources can go into fighting real, real crime.
45:29You understand what I mean?
45:30Yes, we have to treat every missing person as a serious offense.
45:35Maybe they could be involved with nothing or something.
45:37But I still feel those that run away from home and stay with Tom, Dick, and Harry
45:41should be brought before the court and some charge should be taken up upon them.
45:46One.
45:47Two.
45:48As it relates to crime in this country, it's not only politicians,
45:54judicial systems have to be blamed, you know, because we have these kind of laws,
45:59these laws that have been in existence since people would say God was a little boy, you know,
46:05and nothing is being done.
46:07If they bring forward proposals before the parliament so that the public can hear,
46:15you know, things that could deal especially with guns.
46:17The guns is still at hand, right?
46:21And illegal weapons, that is.
46:23If they bring proposals before the parliament and the public can actually hear
46:27what the proposals are, what the government, what the public view that as something positive,
46:32then the opposition would have to force their hand in which to support it, right?
46:37But nothing is being done.
46:38The laws are being taken up, right?
46:41We have a situation with a swath of illegal immigrants, you know,
46:46some of them are involved in the criminal activity, you know,
46:50who started the murdering and all these kind of things.
46:53So we all need to get serious.
46:55We need to revoke the constitution of this country and stricter laws need to be put in place.
47:00You can't have, Mr. Pitt can tell you, you have people before the court who have 15 different pending and more gun charges,
47:08one person, right, for the same offense at different times over and over again.
47:14What exactly is being done?
47:16We are being perpetuated in this country, a lot of innocent people are losing their lives.
47:21Thank you, and it's not fair.
47:24Thank you, ma'am.
47:25Right, so specifically to her question about children running away and if they can be charged,
47:32the reality is no, they cannot really be charged for running away.
47:36However, if we recognize that and the parent recognizes that the child is now becoming uncontrollable,
47:43then the child can be brought before the court and deemed uncontrollable,
47:47and for that reason, the necessary action is taken.
47:50So it's not a case of charging the child per se, you know,
47:53but some intervention taking place from the perspective of the court in order to deem the child uncontrollable.
48:00And there's also those issues where you'll see a lot of young ladies go missing and then they pop up a couple weeks after.
48:08And I know that in some cases there was an incident recently with a 15-year-old girl
48:13and from the company of a man of 25 or something.
48:18And I know he will be liable in some measure for being with a minor, as the case may be,
48:25depending on what officers are able to unearth.
48:28Yeah, yeah.
48:30Yeah, definitely, you know, if we are able to unearth that the engagement is one that is improper,
48:38considering the age of a child, then definitely the adult will have to answer some questions.
48:43You know, so we always hope that persons would act as adults,
48:50and if you recognize that a child is outside of that caring environment or behaving in a particular way,
49:01it's not a case of taking advantage of that situation,
49:04but communicating with whoever is his or her guardian in order that the necessary intervention takes place.
49:10So what we have seen happening is that some persons may capitalize on that,
49:15capitalize on that vulnerability and put that child in further harm,
49:19or even implicate themselves because they are now capitalizing on something.
49:24Yeah, so it's really a sad situation where that is concerned.
49:28Most definitely.
49:30I think we have a caller on the line.
49:32Caller, good evening.
49:34Good evening, gentlemen, good evening.
49:36Good evening, sir.
49:37Good evening.
49:38All right.
49:40Mr. Simon was on the program earlier on this week,
49:43and I heard him say that he must have banned all of the laws to be used by police officers.
49:51Is this a fact, Mr. Pitt?
49:54Well, there was a deal some time ago where a particular mask was forbidden by certain units, yeah?
50:04So it's not general.
50:07There's one unit specifically that was allowed to use it.
50:11However, it's possible that sometimes when we experience the COVID situation,
50:18that officers may abuse the mask that is the medical mask that is, not the big black mask.
50:24There's a particular term they use for it.
50:25It's escaping me.
50:26Baklava.
50:27Baklava or something like that.
50:28It's escaping me.
50:29But that mask in particular, caller, that is a mask that was forbidden based on the deal for units
50:36and police officers generally to be in possession of.
50:38And I know, as you said, there's a special unit, of course,
50:41when you're dealing with sensitive matters and sensitive people in the prisons, I guess.
50:46One of the areas I know for a fact, because of the high-risk prisons and so on,
50:50when they go to conduct exercises, they have to obviously be, you know.
50:55Yeah.
50:56Well, the prisons will have their protocols.
50:57Yeah, their protocols.
50:58But with us, yeah.
50:59And then you guys have a couple units, as you said, would be allowed that.
51:04But it's not general.
51:05Yes, that is correct.
51:07All right.
51:08So we're going to take a short break and we'll be back.
51:10Stay with us.
51:17Introducing Advances Energy Vitamins.
51:20Advances Energy Vitamins is designed to give you the extra push you need to power through your day.
51:24It's not just any multivitamin.
51:26Packed with more than 20 vitamins and minerals with added ginseng and reinforced prebiotics,
51:31a unique synergistic formula that you will find nowhere else.
51:34To help you experience more sustained energy, feel more alive and alert to keep you going strong all day long.
51:41See the difference now with Advances Energy Vitamins.
51:44Available at leading pharmacies and Pennywise nationwide.
51:47Woodside Tools, professional high-quality tools at great prices can be found at Megatrader's Home Improvement Center.
51:53Woodside Tools uses high-quality materials and advanced technology to manufacture power tools.
51:58From cordless drills, impact drivers, saws, routers, to angle grinders, rotary hammer drills, circular saws, jigsaws,
52:06visit us at Megatrader's Limited, No. 81, San Pedro, San Fernando.
52:10Call 652-4438. Shop online at www.ebuystt.com.
52:17The choice is clear.
52:19The TV6 News is the number one news broadcast and the most watched program in TNT, including all cable programming.
52:26With over 50% more eyeballs than the closest competitor, advertisers trust the TV6 News to deliver their message to their target audience.
52:35Competitive rates ensure the biggest bang per buck, and the authority and reputation of the newscast help to build and maintain trust in your brand.
52:43So regardless of the size of your business, the choice is clear.
52:48TV6 News delivers results.
52:51Welcome back to Beyond the Tube. I'm your host, Mark Wilson, of course, joined today by ESP Ishmael Pitt from the Northern North Division.
53:11And we just have a couple of minutes. We just want to wrap up a brief overview, of course, dealing with that incident or with that situation.
53:20And we want to make a special appeal tonight again for those who have Mr. Ram Narain, Subhash Ram Narain, who was taken last Saturday.
53:30And I do believe you will have had some footage where there were men posing in what appeared to be police uniforms.
53:38And, of course, this would have prompted all the situation now where DCP Benjamin has said that all tactical uniforms are to be brought back by a specific time,
53:49ordered by the commissioner, and only specific units are allowed now to use that tactical gear.
53:56Yes. Yeah. Yeah. And again, as we said earlier, Mark, you know, tough times calls for tough decisions.
54:03And the organization has made a tough decision in the interest of guardianship of our society.
54:09We know that, you know, persons will have their different views, but we have to consider the greater good.
54:18It's a balancing act.
54:19It is a balancing act, indeed.
54:22Also, we would want to encourage persons who have information on illegal firearms, and we mentioned persons who are in possession of these unauthorized lights,
54:35to please bring it to our attention so that we can take the appropriate action.
54:40It is something that, you know, we may tend to overlook.
54:44And later down the road, we might observe that someone may use this particular object in carrying out a heinous crime.
54:53Now, having said that, we would want to also inform members of the public that our officers will also be looking at our own internal situation, including unmarked police vehicles.
55:09So we'll be even checking our own unmarked police vehicles, as the case may be.
55:13So in the event that someone feels it might be easy to go out there and just jump in a vehicle and pretend to be police officers,
55:20our officers are mandated to check all vehicles, even if they may have flashing lights,
55:27to determine whether the persons, the occupants of those vehicles, are indeed police officers or not.
55:33That's certainly good news there, because I mean, as you said, that trust that the citizenry needs to have has to be, you know, bolstered going forward.
55:44And we are hopeful that in the coming weeks, that, you know, the police can have some success with that,
55:52as well as the assistance of citizens that, you know, their input is extremely important going forward.
55:59And again, as we close, we really want to make an appeal for those who have Mr. Ramaran in their possession,
56:06to release him so that he can be brought back safely to his family.
56:11So we're going to bid farewell. Of course, don't forget tonight, repeat at 11 theatre.
56:17We run tomorrow at 11 o'clock. The TV6 News is up next at 7. Stay with us.
56:29.
Recommended
58:38
|
Up next
54:08
1:26:07
58:32
56:35
56:59
53:08
1:03:47
57:05
58:20
56:49
52:11
56:49
55:58
54:08
55:52
55:25
55:58
1:03:05
59:27
56:59
56:11
57:44
53:47
1:02:08
Be the first to comment