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03:17Welcome to Beyond the Tape, I'm your host, Mark Bussan.
03:35Welcome to our viewers across Trinidad and Tobago, and of course our global viewers.
03:39It's one day after the general election, and of course we want to congratulate the new Prime Minister-elect, Kamala Prasad-Bissassa, after the party's victory last night in the general election.
03:56And of course, I know that the EBC is still officially working on all the figures and so on, so they did send a press release a short while ago indicating, in terms of the numbers of the party, the electorate would have voted for these specific parties.
04:12But we'll still be awaiting the breakdowns of the various constituencies and the numbers.
04:17And of course, today with us is Acting Commissioner of Police, Junior Benjamin, welcome, son.
04:23I know it's been pretty busy, you know, we just had the elections concluded, SOE, Carnival, how was it?
04:30Well, for us in the TTPS, we are always at work, and I really want to just start off by just thanking the officers.
04:38I mean, the officers, we have been going, as you said, from the SOE to the Carnival period, and then, you know, now to the elections, and again, the officers continue to give that human service.
04:54And I want to really just say, you know, from all 1st Division to the 2nd Division, and even those, you know, who helped us along the way.
05:03This was not just the police service, this was law enforcement. This was really a united effort. It was a multi-agency approach.
05:11So we are grateful to the municipal police, the transit police, as well as the Trinidad-Tobago Defence Force for assisting us in making this a reality.
05:21Well, it's all that you would have sent out a release earlier on the conclusion of the general elections.
05:26And I know that, apart from the police doing their job, obviously, you were very thankful of an incident-free general election.
05:36Yes, and I think that, you know, first of all, I think that really took place because of the work done.
05:43I must commend the goal commander and his ultimate goal, which is, you know, DCP Simon and Kurt Simon and also ACP Tiwari.
05:55They did a tremendous job in really putting that thing together.
05:59And at the same time, you know, they were able to put the systems in place, and we were able to work those systems and ensure a safe and free election period.
06:09And for that, we were able to create that level of integrity to the process, and we were just grateful to do our part as police officers.
06:17Well, I know you would have done some divisional visits yesterday for the general elections.
06:23Let's just take a look at some of the areas you visited.
06:39Let me just say, at this time, it is indeed a privilege to be here.
06:54And even as we see to have come down this time, and we recognize that we have quite a number of officers that came out for duty today,
07:04and I want to take this opportunity to thank all the officers for coming out to ensure that we had or have a very successful election 2025.
07:16I had the esteemed opportunity to go to the Northern North Eastern Division, North Central Division, and Northern North,
07:27and I visited various schools and polling stations at the same time.
07:33It was very good to meet the officers and also meet different persons there where we were able to share.
07:39We were able to find out some of the challenges that they faced, and at the end of the day, we were able to sit down and even find some solutions to these problems.
07:51To me, today was a very successful day because as a police service, we have shown the level of resilience that is needed
07:58to ensure that we continue to put this country first, as we seek to ensure the level of integrity within the electoral system.
08:11So I want to just say thanks to all the officers who took the time to just come out and to ensure safety and security in all the polling stations.
08:21And even as we bring the curtains down, I want to just really continue to give and say special thanks to the citizens of Trinidad and Tobago.
08:31We have played a significant part to ensure safety and security.
08:36Those who had complaints, we brought it to our attention, and I was really glad to know that even as a police service,
08:44we were able to deal with these situations in a very professional manner.
08:48As we look forward, we look forward to continuing to serve this beautiful nation of Trinidad and Tobago as police officers that are sworn to ensure safety and security for all.
09:01With this, I say thanks to all as we continue to protect and serve with pride.
09:06We know there was an incident yesterday involving a particular person in St. Joseph around West area where he allegedly had some of cash and was working for a particular party and he was arrested by police.
09:26He was in the vicinity of, I think, a polling station.
09:28Okay, well, I want to say in relation to that matter, that matter is still engaging our attention.
09:35We certainly would not want to make any pronouncement on that as we want to ensure that the integrity of the process in terms of our investigation,
09:44that situation is also one where we want to ensure that if we are going to make a definite decision on that,
09:54we must have the necessary evidence to prove or disprove whether or not that is so.
09:59So we are presently looking into the matter, and I can assure you very soon a decision will be made on that.
10:04Separate and apart from that, is there any other voting irregularities that might have been reported to the police in any measure?
10:11Well, there were several different anomalies that were brought to our attention from different parties in particular,
10:19and we were able to deal with them.
10:20There were times when you would see from either side where they showed pictures of persons either encroaching,
10:27not staying the full 100 meters away from the polling station.
10:33Those matters immediately, as it was brought to our attention, we dispatched officers to ensure that that was done.
10:39And even when we had other complaints, each of them were met with that level of immediacy,
10:46so that at the end of the day, all parties, I think, were very pleased with the work of the police,
10:51and for that, we are very grateful.
10:53All right, wonderful. All right, let's take a quick look at our headlines.
10:56All right, let's take a quick look at our headsets.
11:09So those were the headlines over the last 24 hours.
11:27And certainly, as you said, Commissioner, you were very pleased with the performance of your officers.
11:33And no doubt, I know that they would have worked some very long and hard hours over the last three to four months.
11:40As you said, SOE in the carnival and now the election.
11:45So clearly grueling, but obviously it was needed.
11:50And I think when you sign up for the job, I think it's important to understand that there are times that the nation is going to call on you as a police officer,
11:58as a person sworn to protect and serve and as law enforcement.
12:02This is part and parcel of the duties of the police officer that we go sometime beyond the call.
12:08And certainly, the Trinidad and Tobago police service has shown that level of resilience.
12:12And for that, I am really proud to really be the acting commissioner leading these great men and women who decide to put on the gray and blue and the khaki.
12:22Let me just say that.
12:23And we continue to ensure safety in Trinidad and Tobago.
12:27All right. We're going to take a short break and we'll be back with your calls.
12:30Stay with us.
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15:00Welcome back to Beyond the Tape.
15:18I'm your host, Mark Busson, joined today by Acting Commissioner of Police, Mr. Junior Benjamin.
15:23And, you know, Commissioner, I know that a former colleague of yours is now on the other side of the fence,
15:29and I was just wondering if you have any special advice or any advice in general for him now that he's on the other side of the fence.
15:35Well, first, I would want to join and, you know, congratulate, you know, Officer Alexander for at least, you know,
15:44being out there. I think it was always a risk, but it was a risk, you know, having spoken to him.
15:50He understood, you know, what he was doing, and he went out there, he gave it his all,
15:55and, you know, he's now on the other side there, trying to be a good police service.
16:01We're really proud. There are many others who have really done that,
16:05and he has joined the ranks of those persons, including our former minister there
16:11in the Ministry of National Security, Minister Gonzalez, as well as Mr. Hines, and so forth.
16:18So we have quite a number of police officers who have, you know, made that transition,
16:23and he has now joined the ranks of those persons, and we say kudos to them, you know,
16:27and they are, you know, models that persons could look at and understand that
16:32when you join the police service, there's no telling.
16:34You could be a lawyer, next thing you know, you could be, you know, probably a politician.
16:38You know, so we're very proud, and we wish him all the best.
16:42All right. Okay, so in Tobago, there was an incident involving a shooting within the last couple of days.
16:50I'm not certain if we have the video that we can bring up.
16:54So, yes. Now, this was allegedly a police-involved shooting that took place sometime last week, Commissioner.
17:01And I don't know if you have any kind of update, because clearly the assailant was handcuffed in this particular video,
17:11based on at least two other videos very similar from different angles, showing that he was handcuffed and so on.
17:18And then I believe in one of the videos, the person who would have been filming would have veered a little bit,
17:25and then you heard a gunshot.
17:27So I don't know if there's any kind of update you can give us.
17:29I understand that the individual in this, the assailant in this case was shot, and he later died.
17:36Yes. You know, these are, you know, first of all, I must say condolences to the family.
17:42And, you know, there are certain things, first of all, when you look at, you know, this video,
17:47that probably we could sit and we could probably learn in hindsight what we should or should not do.
17:54But one of the things here is I think that we find persons really fighting up with the police that could be very unnecessary.
18:04All right. At the same time, you know, there are so many different things that when we look at it, you know,
18:09we could really probably see things that we should and should not do.
18:13But at the end of the day, this is a matter that is under investigation and we would not like to comment much on it
18:20because, you know, you don't want to preempt the investigation.
18:24That being said, as police officers, I can assure you that as the commissioner of police
18:31and given the responsibility to lead the Toronto Police Service, there must be a level of transparency,
18:39integrity and accountability in terms of the job that I'm called to do and the officers that I'm called to serve.
18:45And therefore, I can assure the public that there will be a thorough investigation into this matter.
18:50We are going to ensure that we leave absolutely no stone unturned.
18:54We are going to look at it and we are going to ensure in that thorough investigation that at the end, you know,
19:03persons must know exactly this.
19:06We are going to look at the facts.
19:07We are going to let the facts speak to us and a decision will be made at the end of that.
19:12Well, you did say there are certain things that you can and cannot do.
19:15And just looking at the video, the asylum is obviously restrained in handcuffs.
19:20So I know there are certain protocols you have to follow if you have somebody detained and you have them handcuffed
19:28in terms of how you go about, I guess, securing the asylum and ensuring that they are not a danger to themselves
19:37or to the officers on the scene there.
19:41And there's a lot.
19:42And I'm saying sometimes what you see might not always be all that there is.
19:47What happened before, what happened after, a lot of things.
19:51Sometimes we just see, you know, one part of the whole process.
19:55And I'm just saying that because I do not, as I said, I don't really want to comment much on that.
20:00But it's important that we have the whole picture.
20:03And that is what we're going to be doing.
20:04We're going to be having the whole picture.
20:06And we are going to allow, we have a very experienced person dealing with this investigation.
20:11And that, to me, is very important.
20:14There's a way in which we deal with these things.
20:16There must be a First Division officer dealing with it.
20:18We have a First Division officer that will be dealing with it.
20:21And I am kind of sure you there will be that thoroughness in terms of what needs to be put in place
20:27to ensure that at least what comes out would be something fair.
20:32All right.
20:33Now, last week, I believe the taxi driver by the name of Narendat Ragunanan,
20:39he was working at the DB Penal Taxi stand, I think it was on a Thursday evening.
20:47He spoke with his daughter.
20:49He said he was coming back.
20:51He will be home shortly.
20:52And the last time they actually saw his vehicle was about 15 minutes after on CCTV footage in the said area.
20:58And unfortunately, the following day, or I think, yes, the following day, they found him.
21:05Obviously, his hands tied behind his back and his body dumped.
21:09A really, really, really sad, along the SSC Green Road, a really sad enter a taxi driver's life
21:16who was just trying to make an honest living.
21:17Yes, and we've seen so much of these, you know, I call it senseless killing.
21:24And even though I think that we, Triana Tobego Police Service, we can certainly be thankful
21:30when we look at the numbers in terms of the number of murders that we've seen this year
21:37compared to last year.
21:38We have certainly seen an improvement.
21:40And I think when I, the last time I checked, we are probably 127 or so against 177.
21:49All right, so we actually meet the 50 mark, which I think is a big number for us to know
21:54that we have 50 less murders this year than last year.
21:57But that in itself certainly does not take away anything.
22:00First of all, we extend condolences to the family here again.
22:03And this is the challenge that you face because every time a life is lost, it's a father, it's a son,
22:10it's somebody that is close to a family.
22:13And therefore, we really need to really deal with the crime situation in terms of really
22:19asking persons, one, if you know anything about this situation, I mean, let's come and
22:25share the information so that we can bring the perpetrators to justice.
22:30Triana Tobego, we have to understand that we have a responsibility.
22:34And if you see something, say something.
22:36And the police, we are here.
22:38We want to cut down on those situations.
22:40We want to ensure not only that we reduce the crime situation, but we want to ensure
22:44that we have convictions at the end of the day because we are saying that these lives
22:49matter and it must not be that those lives are going down in vain.
22:53We want to know that we've solved those situations and we will be working hard to
22:57ensure that we give the family some justice by doing thorough investigations into these
23:02matters.
23:03All right.
23:03Thanks a lot, Commissioner.
23:04All right.
23:05We're going to take a short break and we'll be back after this.
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25:18Welcome back to Beyond the Tape.
25:32I'm your host, Mark Vassan, joined today by Acting Commissioner of Police, Junior Benjamin.
25:36And we want to head to the Southwestern Division for, take a look at election activities there
25:41yesterday.
25:48I am Acting Assistant Superintendent Almaraj, presently overseeing the operations in the
25:55Point 14 area.
25:57I refer to as Area West on this day, the Electoral Day, Monday, the 20th of April, 2025.
26:03The Police Service is geared towards protecting the citizens and ensuring the safety and security
26:09of each and every one and the voting public.
26:10Today, we have deployed all our officers to the respective polling divisions and they are
26:17there to ensure the safety and security of the citizens of the nation.
26:21We assure the citizenry and the voting public of our professional conduct to make sure that
26:28today goes by without incident.
26:31I wish to assure the citizens of Trinidad and Tobago that your presence today at the polling
26:36stations will not be interrupted by anything unlawful or any disturbance.
26:43You are to feel free to visit the polling station and vote comfortably without any sort of interference.
26:52The police officers are there to protect and serve with pride and we will treat you with
26:56the utmost of courtesy and professionalism in the execution of our duties.
27:01I am Acting DCP Kurt Simon in charge of operations in Trinidad and Tobago Police Service.
27:06In the Southwestern Division, I observed police officers reporting for duty.
27:11I observed them being dispatched for duty at the different polling stations.
27:14I did visit some polling stations and observed police officers well alert and voting taking
27:20place heavy in some areas.
27:22There were no untoward incidents.
27:25Nothing has so far been reported to me that is along the line of crimes or even disruptions
27:31or intimidation or any such thing.
27:33I am now in the Southern Division and it's a very similar encounter here where the polling
27:38stations, they are opened.
27:40Police officers are manning those polling stations.
27:44Voting is going on quite smoothly.
27:46All in all, it's a smooth process.
27:48I'm leaving now to go to Port of Spain to see how things are up there.
27:54But I have been getting reports that things are running smoothly throughout the country.
27:59Eastern Division have reported a very excellent turnout of police officers.
28:03So to Tobago, no untoward events have been reported.
28:07And we expect it to remain like that.
28:09Remember your police service.
28:11We are here to maintain that sort of vigilance in our communities.
28:16And safety and security is our business today.
28:18We urge you, if you encounter any issues, feel free to call us and we will respond to them.
28:28So, Southwestern Division, they did really have a heavy turnout there in terms of, I think,
28:35the overall percentage of the EBCO that's close to 60% turnout.
28:40I believe the last general election we had something like 52% turnout.
28:44Yes, and I think that the police officers themselves, I must commend them.
28:49I think when we look at the sick leave as well as the absenteeism, this year we've seen a great improvement.
28:57And I am really grateful to see that the officers really recognized that we needed them and they stepped up and they came out.
29:05And even in terms of our logistic team, we want to, again, commend them.
29:10It's important that when you ask officers to go out there, that you have the necessary tools as well as the logistics to give to them.
29:18We had care packages that we gave to them so that they can keep themselves, you know, hydrated and so forth.
29:23And we had regular checks.
29:25So, we are really grateful for what we've seen this year.
29:29There are things that we are going to keep doing and probably even in our assessment because we're going to have that post-mortem on exactly what needs to be done so that we can continue to improve.
29:43We want to see how we can probably even get some of the input from the frontline officers so that we can improve.
29:49But certainly, as a police service, we continue to grow.
29:52We continue to understand that it is a process.
29:55We are continuing to work with our officers to ensure every single time that we make things better every single time.
30:04Great.
30:04All right.
30:05I think we have our first call on the line this evening.
30:07Caller, good evening.
30:09Good evening, gentlemen.
30:12Good evening.
30:12I'm calling to inquire about if you have in connection with the fraudulent checkwoods.
30:19With your account, I did make the report to the police.
30:23It's over a year now, September has been a year.
30:26I tried contacting several police officers.
30:30Um, even the first call, we spoke and nothing has been done as yet.
30:35I know where the gentleman lives, I know where the gentleman lives.
30:38Um, I have his ID every night I give it to the police.
30:41And still nothing has been done.
30:44And September lasted, making one year.
30:47Okay.
30:47Tell me, what can I do now?
30:50All right.
30:51Um, it's so important that we probably try to, um, if I get the name, et cetera, we can probably look into it to see what could be done.
30:59Um, but certainly some of these matters, fraud matters, it takes a while before we could actually bring it to a conclusion.
31:07And there's so many fraud matters right now.
31:10And that is one of the things that we're seeing an increase in, in, in Trinidad and Tobago, even this year.
31:16There are quite a number of fraud matters.
31:18And it is important, therefore, that we try to look at, you know, ways in which we can educate the public so that we would not really find ourselves in that situation.
31:28But once I get the information, I can try to see if I can look into it for you.
31:32Yeah, and as you talk about fraud matters, I think Sergeant Bassarath was in the program last week.
31:37Yeah.
31:37And he did speak about, uh, astonishingly, between January and, and mid-April, uh, fraudsters have, uh, fleeced persons of close to $8 million in various means.
31:51Wow.
31:51Oh, and, and, and that's the reality because you, you see it in the stats.
31:55You know, when you look at our stats, we've seen that, that proliferation of fraud matters.
32:01And it means that the hands of the fraud squad are very much, uh, it's filled.
32:06And what we have done is try to diversify what is happening with the fraud matters so that even in some fraud matters, um, when it is below a sitting amount, we allow the, the divisions to deal with it.
32:18And the more, uh, those that are above a particular threshold, we allow the fraud squad to deal with it in order to free them up so that they can be able to be effective and efficient in the, in the process.
32:29All right.
32:30We have another caller on the line.
32:32Caller, good evening.
32:34Good evening.
32:35Good evening, Mr.
32:35Mr.
32:36Vassar, and a very good evening to the commissioner of police, Mr.
32:40Benjamin.
32:42Good evening.
32:42Um, two, two issues, and I want to focus on the Tobago shooting.
32:48Who was the policeman wearing about the camera?
32:51And the other issue, I listened attentively to a radio talk show program where two of your officers,
32:59the DC, the DCP of operation, uh, I think legal counsel, the police was on the, the station, and they gave some very, very good information with respect to election matters.
33:13But DCP of operation, but DCP of operation use a term that I, I really like environmental scanning, and I'm going to insert that term into a discussion I want to have with you.
33:28Environmental scanning, environmental scanning, and I'm hoping the police service does it.
33:32We have an issue currently in Guyana with a young girl who has died in a swimming pool.
33:43That really hurts me to hear, because it's a parallel issue to something we had in Trinidad in 1998, and I've got to call the young boy who lost his life, Akil Chambers.
33:57And it's interesting to see how the police and state official is handling that.
34:06And my question to you, are you all looking on to that?
34:10Seeing how complicit the police might have been in Guyana, and what are the good information you all have taken back, hopefully, to help you all.
34:24If it's still a cold case, the Akil Chambers case, because as far as I'm concerned, that has not been shut down or closed from my memory.
34:35I think it was heinous.
34:38The last time I read, I revisited an African Guardian where a gentleman is living in Canada who do a report.
34:46I said he has information, and he's awaiting police interviewing him.
34:53I don't know if the police, you all have interviewed him.
34:55I think one of the officers was there on the program last week, and he's supposed to come back this week to tell me what's going on with that.
35:03So, I will listen to your response.
35:05Thank you, sir.
35:07Kola, thanks.
35:08We'll respond after this short break.
35:09Stay with us.
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38:07Welcome back to Beyond the Tape.
38:09I'm your host, Mark Musan, joined today by Acting Commissioner of Police, Junior Benjamin.
38:14And I know, Mr. Benjamin, before the break, we had a caller inquiring about the Akil Chambers matter and, of course, the shooting in Tobago.
38:20Right. Well, first, I want to say thanks for the question.
38:24Let's just start with the one, the shooting in Tobago.
38:27It's important to note that the officer is what we might say is an off-duty officer, meaning that he was not working.
38:33And I'm using the word working because at the same time, as police officers, we are always on duty, but he was not really on duty.
38:41So to have a body camera is not something that is the norm.
38:47It's there for persons when they are working to have the body camera if you're going out on a scene or even on patrol.
38:54Once you have the body camera there, you're supposed to use it.
38:57So I think that would not really apply to that situation in Tobago.
39:02In relation to the environmental scanning and the case with Akil Chambers,
39:10I have to do some more work on that to know whether or not that matter is still open.
39:16But nevertheless, I want to say that if you're going to Tobago police service, we do environmental scanning
39:22because we tend to look at situations, understanding that when we look at the crime situation,
39:31we take into consideration whether or not the political landscape, the cultural aspect of what is happening
39:40and all the different areas to ensure that when we make a decision in relation to crime,
39:48how does the economics impact the crime situation?
39:52So at the end of the day, we look at not just crime prevention, crime suppression,
39:57but crime intervention strategies, all the different things that is going to play a part
40:02to ensure that we do that environmental scan to know exactly what we need to do
40:07to come up with solutions for the crime situation.
40:12And more and more, this is the way that 21st Policing is going
40:17and the Toronto Legal Police Service continues to do our part to bring our officers to that level
40:23where we are able to deal with environmental scanning
40:26and apply it to the crime situation so that we can find solutions
40:30that is really 21st century in nature.
40:34I certainly hope that answered the caller's questions.
40:37We have another caller on the line. Caller, good evening.
40:40Hi, good evening, sir.
40:41Good evening.
40:43Just two quick questions.
40:45Is there a time limit for retired police officers to keep them on as SRPs?
40:54I mean, because I find that some retired police officers are acting for five, six years,
41:01and I mean, we could do better than that in the service now.
41:05I mean, continuity of service, you must have processes, you must have procedures and things,
41:11and that should not happen.
41:12Another thing is that I find this issue with the Mesistola Christopher,
41:20it's only going, the police service is saying that it's going back and forth
41:24from the police to the DPP, from the police to the DPP,
41:28and the DPP don't have sufficient evidence, and we have to gather evidence,
41:33and I mean, this back and forth thing that's going on too long,
41:36I can ask some, that system I told you, you all could do better than that, sir.
41:41And first of all, I want to start off by just saying, in terms of the retired officers,
41:53once a retired officer comes back, he comes back as a special reserve officer,
41:57that officer goes up to the age of 60 and can even probably go until about 62, 63, quote,
42:07based on a year-by-year contract and based on whether or not his or her service is needed
42:16within the organization.
42:18The commissioner has that prerogative to do that, and that's how the process goes.
42:23I'm not sure about the acting part because I don't know about that in terms of retired persons.
42:29But that is exactly how we deal with retired persons who are coming back as special reserve officers.
42:35You come back in a particular rank, and you hold that rank until you succeed
42:41and contract for at least three more years if the commissioner so desires.
42:47In terms of the Commissioner Christopher situation, and I can understand the frustration,
42:54I would just tell you, at the end of the day, the Toronto Police Service operates based on one process,
43:03and we also operate based on principles.
43:08There is a way in which we deal with matters, and I know that persons might be frustrated,
43:14and we understand that frustration, and there is absolutely no joy in us doing this.
43:19We have to do what the law requires us to do in terms of going to the DPP, being advised, and operating.
43:26And if that's what the law requires us to do, we have to do that until a decision is made.
43:33So, again, Trina and Tobago understand that in the police service, we must do what we have to do based on that,
43:40and we await, again, the decision or that advice from the DPP that will guide us in this matter.
43:47Yes. All right. Thanks for that explanation, Commissioner.
43:52We just quickly want to take a look.
43:54There was a road traffic accident this morning, I believe, along the Eastern Main Road here.
44:00One of the vehicles overturning, of course, a woman was trapped in the vehicle
44:06and had to be taken out by passersby, and there was a young cop scout there as well,
44:12also part of, I don't know if he was one of the occupants of one of the vehicles,
44:18and obviously we are hopeful that all those, those that were involved in that particular RTA were not too badly hurt.
44:26Yes. I would like to say, you know, when we see RTAs like these, it really, you know, kind of hurt your heart
44:35because sometimes you recognize persons are injured, lives can be affected, and sometimes lives are lost.
44:43And you ask yourself probably what went wrong.
44:46Is it that person's speeding or, you know, something, you know, caused this accident?
44:54I want to just encourage, you know, drivers and persons who are driving on the nation's road,
45:00let's start to drive for the next person.
45:02Let us start to be much more responsible in the way that we drive.
45:08A lot of times you see people seeing an amber light and they want to pass it, so you speed up.
45:15But yet when you're going to do your exam, you know you ought to slow down when you see amber.
45:20So I think that we really just need to get it right.
45:23And sometimes, you know, if we can exercise some more patience and even some more compassion,
45:28understanding that, hey, I'm not just driving for myself, but I'm driving for the persons that are in my vehicle
45:34and also for the other vehicle that is outside there, I think that we can really solve some of these situations
45:40by ensuring less accidents on the nation's road and we can also save lives in the long run.
45:45Most definitely.
45:46All right, we're going to take a short break and we'll be back.
45:48Stay with us.
46:09Agriculture drives the Caribbean economy.
46:11But farmers face market barriers, high costs and financial exclusion, which can threaten livelihoods and food security.
46:20AgriConnect leverages fintech to bridge this gap, offering real-time pricing, direct buyer access and secure transactions.
46:28This is the future of Caribbean farming.
46:31Some of the issues that I face accessing fair market prices is that when you go to the market,
46:38it was like a whole day thing and we ended up never making any sale.
46:43So that was like a whole day wasted.
46:46And some of the problems that you face is that when you go,
46:50you have to make sure that the prices that you have are competitive based on what another vendor would have.
46:57Sometimes you end up with spoilage because you have a lot of goods.
47:02You can't really get a fair price.
47:04You have to sell it all for little or nothing or sometimes give it away because you don't want the produce to spoil on you.
47:10How AgriConnect has allowed me to get fair market prices is that they connect you directly to the buyer.
47:20You set a fair price based on what you know the value of the produce is.
47:24And you will negotiate with AgriConnect for a price that is suitable.
47:30From there, they arrange for somebody to pick up the product and it's smooth sailing.
47:35So the transaction, they do it via some online transfer.
47:39So you don't have to worry about you actually going in some remote location to get the funds that you put yourself in danger.
47:47What we have experienced in the past when prices fluctuate, our loyal customers do not support us.
47:52They go elsewhere where they can get cheaper prices.
47:55However, AgriConnect has maintained the consistency on buying.
47:59We get our fair prices so we can manage all our farm expenses.
48:02When AgriConnect had reached out to us, I was a bit skeptical because they wanted to buy a few thousand dollars in produce.
48:09And, you know, they said they would have paid after a week.
48:12So I was scared, but they were very consistent with the payment.
48:17They came out and paid on time.
48:19Sometimes I don't even check to see if they pay.
48:22I know when I open my mobile banking app, the payment is always there on time.
48:26So I will advise all farmers to trust them, connect with them, sell them your produce.
48:32It wouldn't go wrong at all.
48:33AgriConnect is more than just a platform.
48:36It's a movement towards fairness, security, and economic empowerment for farmers.
48:41With real-time market pricing and direct buyer access, the future of farming is in your hands.
48:48Take control of your pricing.
48:50Access buyers directly.
48:51Join AgriConnect today.
48:53Sign up at farmers.agriconnect.online.
48:56Welcome back to Be On The Tape.
49:11I'm your host, Mark Besson, joined today by Acting Commissioner of Police, Junior Benjamin.
49:16Mr. Benjamin, obviously, one of the most, you know, topical issues in the run-up to the general elections
49:23dealt explicitly with crime.
49:26Safety, security, and I think maybe that was perhaps reflected in the electorate's decision
49:32to shift, you know, in certain areas.
49:36But from a policing standpoint of view, of course, and not getting into any politics,
49:42you know, you will have certain plans because obviously one of the major things is timing that homicide rate
49:49because a lot, the public tend to judge the performance of a government
49:53or even the police on a homicide rate.
49:56Yes, certainly.
49:57And what we recognize is that the Toronto Maple Police Service, we have really sought this year
50:03because of the SOE, our security posture has changed to one of our, if I may use that,
50:10a more militant one where we recognize the seriousness.
50:12We are not, it's a no-nonsense approach for too long.
50:16We have gangs that want to come and to run things.
50:20We are saying that the police service, we are not going to stand for that.
50:23We are going to ensure that we use intelligence-led, evidence-based approach to dealing with crime.
50:29We are saying that we are going to allow the stats to speak to us.
50:32We are doing our gang mining where we are able to know the gangs that are in the area.
50:37We are going to know the members, the associates, and we are telling parents,
50:41if you have children that are involved in gangs, hello, watch out, speak to them
50:45because we are not going to be tolerating that because once you start to align with them,
50:51you are going to be like them.
50:52So we are saying to persons, you know, let us really take control of our community.
50:57We are working and ensuring that we do what we call that targeting policing,
51:04where it is that in-your-face policing.
51:06We are going to be out there.
51:08Once we know that we have persons who are involved in gang activity,
51:12we are going after those persons, and we are saying there is a no-nonsense approach.
51:17And while we are doing that, we are also going to allow the stats to let us know
51:21exactly where we are going to put our patrols
51:23so that what you are going to be seeing coming out this year
51:26is that we create a response time to reports and so forth.
51:32So all in all, when we look into the future,
51:35we are seeing a much better police service even as we go into 2025.
51:40Certainly, you know, one of the interesting things, of course,
51:42is when the media tends to ask about a particular individual or individuals,
51:48are they a gang member or are they a gang leader?
51:52You know, we tend to get an answer that, well, we are not sure.
51:55But then the state of emergency comes upon us and then we see detention orders being written up.
52:04This one is the leader of a gang, he is to be detained, et cetera.
52:07So, you know, I guess it's one half, doesn't it?
52:10The other, when it comes to that, because the police has, they obviously have a say in this.
52:17They have a lot of intelligence driven that gives the Ministry of National Security
52:22that impetus to move forward for that detention order.
52:26Well, I tell you, as an attorney, I can tell you as well that I think the real issue
52:31is the threshold that is needed to prove different things.
52:35In terms of a detention order, what is needed there is not as high a threshold
52:40as what you will have to prove if you have to prove that person is a gang leader to convict them.
52:47So, again, it is not as easy as that, you know, because the police have the information.
52:52We have to take the intelligence and turn that intelligence into evidence
52:55and to ensure that it reaches a threshold to convict a person in relation to that.
53:00So that in itself is something that we continue to work on and we continue to build that.
53:04I think the SOE has given us a wonderful foundation and with that,
53:08I believe that we can find ourselves starting off not at ground zero,
53:12but certainly at a higher level where we believe that this year we can have a big deal.
53:18All right. All right, we're running out of time.
53:20Commissioner, again, thank you so much.
53:22We hope to see you again on the program in a couple of weeks.
53:25Remember, we run tonight at 11.30, another repeat tomorrow at 11 o'clock.
53:30The TV6 News is up next. Stay with us.
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