00:00Figures released on Thursday showed that the TTPS paid $793.89 million in overtime claims
00:07between January 2024 and August this year. Payments for the first eight months of 2026
00:14had already exceeded the totals for either of the two previous full years. The figures were
00:20disclosed in response to a Freedom of Information application submitted by attorney
00:26Keron Ramkalawan on behalf of Vishal Persaud. In a video statement today, Commissioner Alistair
00:33Guevaro said the TTPS was operating with a 22 percent shortage of officers while maintaining
00:39its operational tempo. He said the staff shortage meant overtime was necessary to sustain police
00:47operations. I want you all to understand that I am working with less police officers and able to
00:55increase operational tempo. So obviously, we will incur overtime.
01:02Guevaro said the service's ongoing recruitment exercise should reduce the need for overtime as
01:09more officers join the organization. But he maintained that, for now, the payments were necessary to
01:16support operations aimed at improving public safety. We currently have a mass recruitment exercise.
01:24And as we begin to see more police officers being brought on board, we will see a commensurate
01:31drop in the need for overtime. The figures showed that overtime claims paid amounted to $233.87
01:39million in 2024, increasing to $276.84 million last year. For January to August this year, the figure reached
01:49$283.19 million. That was $49.32 million more than the total for all of 2024 and $6.35 million
02:01above the
02:022025 total. Guevaro argued that the combined figure had been presented without sufficient context,
02:11saying the TTPS had generally spent about $400 million annually.
02:16If you measure the money he's expended on overtime, you will see that the TTPS
02:22has most times averaged around $400 million annually.
02:27The commissioner also addressed the inclusion of his office in the categories listed in the documents,
02:33saying first division officers, including the commissioner of police, were not eligible for
02:39overtime payments.
