Legislators are calling for a review of security arrangements for Parliament and an improvement of police intelligence.
Those were two of the major recommendations in the report of the Joint Select Committee on national security which investigated the March 23, 2016 “total policing” Initiative.
Thousands of citizens were negatively affected as police conducted simultaneous roadblocks across the nation, including Tobago.
Commuters were delayed in the roadblocks for hours in some instances and were unable to go to work and students had to return home. Caribbean Airlines flights were also affected by the exercise.
The committee, chaired by Independent Senator Rolph Balgobin, submitted its report to the Senate at its final sitting on Wednesday.
The 326-page report said: “The role of the GEB in relation to provision of security of the Parliament should be immediately reviewed (and) intelligence gathering as an area of law enforcement should be given extra attention and possibly enhanced in order to prevent similar occurrences like that of March 23, 2015.
“We have formed the opinion that the quality of human intelligence resources, which could detect internal threats, should be examined and improved within the various agencies and departments responsible for matters of national security.”
The committee noted that the police was responsible for the maintenance of law and order, the prevention and detection of crime and the prosecution of offenders.
The report said: “Evidence seems to support that these disruptive activities were co-ordinated and executed as a form of response to stalled salary negotiations.”
The report said the committee agreed with acting ACP Vincel Edwards’ findings that Second Division officers without the knowledge and support of the police executive, took control of their respective divisions and delivered their skewed interpretation of “total policing” in a display of “malicious disobedience.”
The report said the malicious disobedience was done to the CoP’s Strategic Crime Plan 2014-2016; the “Police Visibility Patrol” memo by DCP Operations Mr Harold Phillip and the relevant legislation and regulations under which they operated.
It added: “The committee concludes that some measure of control was lost in six divisions of the TTPS and that the consequences were very distressing for citizens,” adding that “far greater damage could have been done if there were other intentions by the perpetrators.”
The report said the “imminent dissolution of Parliament would have curtailed the committee’s work in this matter.”
It said despite that “certain progress has been made which would allow for conclusions to be drawn.”
It said the Police Service, which is investigating the matter, should proceed to complete it and the findings be sent to the Police Complaints Authority “to complete its own investigation as well as to the Police Service Commission (PSC).”
Other recommendations were
- The committee recommends that the relationship between the officers conducting the roadblock exercises and those attending the police assaciation meeting of the March 19, 2015 at the offices of the GEB be investigated.
- Given his status as vice-president of the police association and his public statements, the role of Inspector Roger Alexander in the roadblock exercises should be further investigated.
- Given the suspicions surrounding the participation of the association in the activities of March 23, 2015, the committee advises that the role of the association in the active management of the Police Service be examined.
- Given their public statements and having regard to testimony to the committee, the levels of awareness of ACP Garfield Moore and Senior Supt Joanne Archie of roadblock activities on March 23, 2015 should be further investigated.
- The PSC should examine the number of acting appointments in the TTPS and request that the acting Commissioner of Police seeks to rectify same.
