The Prime Minister says that while her administration has discussed possible changes to the process for the selection and appointment of a Police Commissioner, this will not be addressed in the new Parliament in the short term.
And, The Prime Minister expressed the hope that a substantive Police Commissioner will be appointed soon.
00:00The Parliament's website was updated on Friday to state that the clerk will read the proclamation by Her Excellency the President of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago declaring the first session of the 13th Parliament open next week on May 23rd.
00:14During the post-Cabinet media briefing at the Red House on Thursday, TV6 News asked Prime Minister Kamala Passat-Besessa about the parliamentary agenda concerning the appointment of a substantive police commissioner.
00:26The process for the appointment of a commissioner of police, is that something that your administration would want to examine whether there needs to be any sort of legislative changes to make the process easier or faster or better?
00:43Well, not in the short term. I think in the short term we need to get a substantive commission of police and changes to the legislation will take us a little more time, which will then subvert really what is the present law.
00:58But certainly we will consider changes to the law, A.G. We have talked about it, but not in the short term.
01:04There is presently an acting commissioner of police, Junior Benjamin.
01:08Last Saturday, the DPP announced that the evidence presented does not reach the required threshold so as to lead to a criminal charge against then-suspended police commissioner,
01:19Lula Herewood Christopher, which brought an end to a police investigation into the granting of a certain firearm importation permit.
01:26Attorney General John Jeremy responded to a question about that matter on Thursday.
01:30The entire thing was shocking. I mean, a police commissioner being the subject of an arrest, that is something that is unusual. It's a situation which we met.
01:46The High Court ruled on Monday that the Police Service Commission should reinstate Mrs. Herewood Christopher to duty.
01:52As the term of office was due to expire, the Homeland Security Ministry said it had taken advice from the Office of the Attorney General
01:59and announced that Mrs. Herewood Christopher had been informed to proceed on the 66 days vacation leave she had accrued with effect from Wednesday.
02:09On Thursday, the cabinet decided to buy out Mrs. Herewood Christopher's unutilized vacation leave.
02:15The government did not think that the government did not think that it made sense to have Mrs. Christopher report to duty for half of a day or one day
02:29and then to revert her position if she was not extended, and I don't think that the mind of the government was to extend her,
02:41that we would have an accounting officer and not a police commissioner in charge of the police service.
02:48The AG further said the cabinet thought, quote,
02:50It would have been better for the police to have a police commissioner in place throughout the period leading up to the new parliament,
02:58and that meant Mr. Benjamin, the person in the chair, should continue, end quote.
03:02I think in the short term, I really would await the Police Service Commission's recommendations,
03:08which they were sent to the president.
03:10I will not go and take away the merit list from the president.
03:13I will wait for the president to send it to us, and then we bring it to the parliament in accordance with law.
03:19The president's system for appointing substantive and acting appointments of a police commissioner and deputy commissioners of police
03:25was brought to life some 20 years ago during a past PNM administration.
03:30Changes to that legislative movement? No.
03:33I was part of that process, do you remember, when Mr. Manning brought in this new system,
03:39and there was something good about it because before the prime minister had to veto,
03:43the prime minister would veto any one person, the prime minister would say no.
03:47Now, you'll tell me there's still the prime minister's veto, but not in substance, but in essence,
03:53because if the parliament is governed by the prime minister's team, at the end of the day, it would still be the prime minister.
03:59So it's something that we need to look at.
04:01But it did give us some more transparency and oversight.
04:05The prime minister called that process a hybrid between the Westminster and U.S. systems.
04:11You always need to review roads, so thank you for that.
04:15So soon you'll be getting a new commission of police, I hope.
04:18There has been no official word from the Police Service Commission about a new order of merit list.
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