Thanks but no thanks. So said National Security Minister Gary Griffith on an offer from former 1990 coup commissioner Hafizool Ali Mohammed who wants to join the fight against crime. In a press release yesterday Griffith made it clear he intended to hire the best in the field and not someone who knows the culture when it came to crime fighting.
Mohammed reportedly offered his services to Griffith, via e-mail, when he heard of his proposal to bring former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and former New York Commissioner William J Bratton to T&T. In his statement, Griffith said it was quite interesting that Mohammed said he would not charge as much as Giuliani or Bratton.
“Both individuals have a track record in dramatically reducing crime in all aspects in New York city and several parts of the world. Dr Mohammed does not have such a track record in any such form or fashion. “Mr Giuliani and Mr Bratton have companies with previous chiefs of police, prisons and fire departments, with qualifications and credentials in all aspects of security. Dr Mohammed does not possess such,” Griffith said.
He said Mohammed's rationale of him having “multi-culture” being the reason to consider him to deal with law enforcement, showed incorrect views and his (Mohammed’s) inability to understand that to deal with national security, especially law enforcement, no longer just required having “common sense and a level head.”
“Culture has very little to do with dealing with law enforcement. By Dr Mohammed not being versed or tactically trained in law enforcement and security management, he has the unfortunate misconception that crime can be cultural,” Griffith added.