The president of the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service Social and Welfare Association is warning that information leaks within the service cannot be condoned. He also raised concerns about officers being unable to access their leave.
00:00TV6 News caught up with Association President Gideon Dixon today at the Vemcot compound off
00:05the Beetham Highway, where the group hosted a health fair in collaboration with the Transit
00:09Police, Guardian Life, and Health Net Caribbean.
00:13LEAKING OF INFORMATION IN THE DTPS CANNOT BE CONDONED BY THE ASSOCIATION.
00:19WE HAVE REGULATIONS, WE ALSO HAVE A POLICY IN TERES OF COMMUNICATION WHICH AUTO GUIDE OFFICERS AND BY EXTENSION THE UNSWORN MEMBERS OF STAFF IN TERMS OF WHAT WE PUT OUTSIDE THERE.
00:36So, the call for the investigation into the matter is a good call because we definitely need to be able to treat with such breaches and deal with it swiftly, right, to send the correct message.
00:53Dixon also highlighted concerns about officers' leave restrictions, which he says has been ongoing since 2019.
01:00He notes that the burden of work has taken a toll on its officers, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, when 39 officers died.
01:09OFFICERS HAVE BEEN PLACED ON WHAT YOU WOULD CALL A RED ALERT ALMOST EVERY SINGLE YEAR.
01:24WE HAVE HAD SEVERAL LEAVE RESTRICTIONS WHICH HAVE CAUSED OFFICERS, EVEN WHEN WE TALK IN HEALTH AND WELLNESS, YOU COULD SEE THAT WE WON'T SPARE IN TERMS OF LOSING OFFICERS.
01:38WE HAVE BEEN GOING CONSISTENTLY AND THERE IS NEED TO BALANCE GOING CONSISTENTLY WITH WORK AND BEING ABLE TO BALANCE LIFE.
01:46DIXON SAYS THAT HE HIMSELF IS CURRENTLY ON LEAVE AFTER ACCUMULATING TWO YEARS, BUT BEING GRANTED ONLY ONE.
01:54HE ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THE COMMISSIONER OF POLICE HAS THE AUTHORITY TO MANAGE LEAVE, BUT URGED THAT OFFICERS' HEALTH MUST BE CONSIDERED.
02:01ANY TIME AN OFFICER'S HEALTH AND WORK-LIFE BALANCE IS AFFECTED, WE WILL HAVE CONCERNS.
02:10AND WITH THE STATE OF EMERGENCY SET TO COME TO AN END NEXT MONTH, BARING ANY EXTENSIONS,
02:16DIXON SAYS THAT HE WILL BE LOBBYING FOR OFFICERS TO GET SOME REPRIEVE BEFORE THE CYCLE RESTARTS AGAIN
02:22FOR THE CHRISTMAS AND CARNIVAL SEASONS.
02:24IT MUST BE DONE IN SUCH A WAY, STRATEGICALLY, THAT IT ALLOWS THE OFFICERS TO BE ABLE TO MENTINE A
02:31LEVEL OF WORK-LIFE BALANCE. AND FOR THAT REASON, WE KNOW THAT THIS LEAVE RESTRICTION
02:38OUGHT TO BE COMING TO END BY MID-OCTOBER. WE WILL BE CLAIMING FOR OFFICERS TO BE ABLE TO GET
02:46THAT REPRIEVE.
02:48DIXON STRESSED THAT WHILE OFFICERS SERVE ON BEHALF OF THE STATE,
02:51THEY ARE ALSO HUMAN BEINGS WHO NEED BALANCE BETWEEN WORK AND LIFE.
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