Are T&T's Police Really Paid Well?

With a crime rate per capita higher than that of the United States, can it truly be said that Police Officers in Trinidad and Tobago are well paid? The Express has quoted Minister of National Security as saying that per month a married constable will receive $9,516 per month, a married sergeant $11,460 and a married inspector $12,324. In light of the high risks involved regarding the job of a police officer, especially with regard to the high crime rate of our country can one truly say our officers are paid well? Mr. Sandy was on TV6 morning show saying that one cannot put a price to police work or on an officer's life. He said that even if each officer was paid $100,000 it still does not equate to the value of their life. What I want to know is if that is the case does that justify our police officers being severely under paid?

How do our police officers pay look in comparison to the pay of officers in other countries where the crime rate per capita is not as high as ours? Well in the UK police officers salary are as follows : -

Constables

On commencing service - £23,259, TT annual equivalent $251,025, Monthly TT Equivalent $20,918!!!

Constables at Pay Point 5

£31,032, TT annual equivalent $334,916, TT monthly Equivalent $27,909

Constables at Pay Point 10

£36,519, TT annual equivalent $394,135, TT monthly Equivalent $32,844

Sargeant's Pay 1yr in Position

£37,767, TT annual equivalent $407,604, TT monthly equivalent $33,967

Sargeant's at Pay Point 4

£41,040, TT annual equivalent $442,928, TT monthly equivalent $36,910

Inspector Pay Point 1

£48,108 with a raise bracket to £50,163, TT annual equivalent $519,210, TT monthly equivalent $43,267

Inspector Pay Point 3

£50,751 with a raise bracket to £52,818, TT annual equivalent $547,735, TT monthly equivalent $45,644

In the United States the average base pay for a New York State Trooper is USD $5,938 per month, which is TT $38,219 per month. However with over time a 2009 US Bureau Consensus found that with overtime officers took home on average USD $96,890 per annum which works out to be USD $8000 per month and a TT equivalent of $51,492 per month. As of 2010 the aveage salary for all ranks was USD $112,537 per annum, TT $724,276 per annum which works out to be TT $60,356 per month. Front line troopers took home in 2010 on average USD $101,574, TT $653,720 per annum which works out to be TT $54,476 per month. As a group Supreme Court Judges and New York City Judges are the only public servants who made more money than New York Police Officers with an average of USD $14,000 per annum. The interesting thing to note however is New York City Police Officers are the 'second highest paid' officers in the United States as Police Officers in New Jersey are actually paid more than New York Officers. Dennis Hallion an Executive of the National Troopers Council when asked to comment on the USD 112,000 salary for officers said "not enough".

So with these figures in mind, I can't see how Mr. Sandy can boast about a local married constable being paid $9,516 to leave his family every day and put his life at risk for another man's family and expect that police officer to be motivated and enthusiastic about his job but let's be real the majority of police officers are constables, and even when one considers the salaries of our senior officers it can be clearly shown from the figures that constables in the UK and US are working for twice the salary than our local senior officers. I agree asking for a ridiculous increase for officers such as a 50% increase may not be feasible, but certainly a 5% increase by government is totally out of order.

ECA issuing threats to the working class of T&T

Last week the Employer’s Consultative Association issued a statement saying that any strike action by trade unions in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago could result in workers being laid off from their jobs. What I found curious about such a statement being made by an association that is operating freely in a modern day democratic society is the fact that they did not state why workers would be laid off for exercising their democratic rights.

ECA chairman Keston Nancoo was quoted in the Express as saying "In the present set of circumstances, while we acknowledge the right of trade unions to use their organisation and institutional power to resist attacks on social and labour rights, we do believe that the time has come for us to break with tradition and to introduce greater levels of creativity, innovation and imagination, supported by the will to succeed and the belief in the possibility of change". So again I ask the question, if it is as Mr. Nancoo states that the ECA recognises the right of trade unions to use their institutional power to resist attacks on social and labour rights, why then does his organisation foresee that workers will be laid off for exercising those rights, an act which would no doubt be in contravention of not only our democratic freedoms but a contravention of good industrial relation practice?

Is Mr. Nancoo indicating the ECA’s subtle acceptance that despite the so called advancement of democracy, end of slavery and indenturedship that members of his organisation are still openly victimising workers for exercising their democratic rights? Is Mr. Nancoo now subtly admitting that members of his organisation are employing tactics of our former colonial masters when our forefathers took to the streets and downed tools when they were of the opinion that they were being exploited, treated unfairly and not being given a fair share of the profits which they toiled to generate? I do believe Mr. Nancoo and the ECA owes the citizens of this country an explanation with regards his organisation’s latest statement.

I for one cannot understand why Mr. Nancoo would advocate a break with tradition when it seems members of his association are well prepared to engage in tactics of the past such as victimising workers for engaging in industrial action, and to issue threats such as the above statement. If it is that Mr. Nancoo’s members are not only going to continue their acts of depriving workers of a just wage but also victimise them when they seek to fight for just wages as their democratic rights permits them to, then surely Mr. Nancoo cannot reasonably expect the trade unions to break with tradition. I do believe what Mr. Nancoo and the ECA are engaging in is what is called “double speak”.

While the ECA is pleading with trade unions to “put their country first”, one cannot help but notice that they have issued no such request to their respective members who are making millions in profit. How come the ECA does not see it as a duty to remind it’s members who are raking in millions of dollars in profits despite the global financial crisis, that they need to put country first by ensuring they pay their workers well and give them a just share of profits to ensure that poverty eradication remains a priority in our beloved country and a descent standard of living for the workers who were responsible for them making such millions is secured?

One Caribbean Media Ltd has reported a $44.5 million before tax profit for the half-year ended June 30 2011. Republic Bank Group has recorded a net profit attributable to shareholders of $525.3 million for the financial half year ended March 31 2011 and just posted a 7% increase over their 9month results. Ansa McAL reported a $954m profit for its shareholders. Yet still the ECA is silent with regards to the patriotic responsibilities of these organisations in terms of rewarding employees and ensuring that they have a good standard of living.

I want to let Mr. Nancoo and the members of his organisation know that the workers of this country will not revert to the kind of oppression that was endured by our forefathers. We will not be susceptible to tomfoolery and masked threats. I also want to remind Mr. Nancoo that throughout history the number one crippling factor in economies the world over is the greed of the employer class and their reluctance to fairly distribute the wealth, so he can mamaguy the working class in T&T all he wants it is the employer class that stands to lose the most. I therefore recommend to Mr. Nancoo to advise his members to "put country first" and ensure that the wealth of this nation is fairly distributed to all and not greedily hoarded and controlled by a few.

To Protect, Serve and Disrespect With Pride

A student at the St. Joseph’s College in St. Joseph reported to her Principal that $1400.00 was stolen from her bag and was advised by said principal to report the matter to the police. The police were called in and students belonging to the class of the student whose money was allegedly stolen were stripped search by male and female officers respectively. Not being privy to how the actual searches were carried out I cannot say if the officers did it in a demeaning or intimidating manner but some thoughts do come to mind with regard to this whole fiasco.

I first want to address the manner in which searches are conducted by police officers in Trinidad and Tobago. Most police officers in Trinidad and Tobago have no manners....plain and simple. They do not know how to speak to their fellow citizens with respect. I have seen police officers speak to adults as if they were speaking to their own children. In the United States of America for example if you are in a vehicle and a police officer wants to search you, his requests for you to vacate the vehicle usually goes like this “Miss/Sir could you ‘please’ step out of the vehicle?”. Secondly officers in the US ask you to step out of your car if they notice you acting suspiciously, they do not ask you to step out of your vehicle and search you by guess because they get a ‘vibe’ to do it.

I remember once I was sitting in the front seat of a maxi taxi heading out of Diego Martin and there was a police road block in the environs of Powder Magazine. Our maxi was stopped and the police began their ‘selective’ searches...’you come! You Come!’ At the time I was about 22 years old and I remember sitting in the maxi and thinking to myself that something is fundamentally wrong with this procedure. What right does a police officer have to stop a public vehicle or any vehicle for that matter in the absence of a search warrant or any legitimate circumstances such as the search for a known fugitive or a threat to national security, rudely shout at people to vacate the vehicle only to be publicly searched simply because they get a ‘vibe’? Since when is sitting in a maxi heading out of Diego Martin a suspicious act?

Highly annoyed that I was being unnecessarily delayed highly annoyed at having to witness fellow citizens being subjected to such barbaric humiliation I remember sitting in the front seat looking straight ahead, not because I was the least bit intimidated, on the contrary I was firetrucking annoyed at having my Saturday morning rudely interrupted by these uncouth ruffarians in uniform. Low and behold a hand suddenly shoots into the vicinity of my face ‘You come!’ I turn my head nonchalantly at the uniformed pig that barked the order and gave him that look I’m most famous for...the one where I use my eyes alone to tell you what a f***k head I think you are. I considered my options, allow the arse to search me unlawfully or assert my rights and risk being beaten in handcuffs all the way to the pig style (station) to which these animals belong so they can charge me for using ‘obscene language’, even though I didn’t use obscene language as I was too busy shielding blows and stemming the flow of blood from my rude, how dare I declare my rights lips.

I must confess I copped out and took the easy route. My bag was searched and I was patted in public for the first time in my life by a police officer and I must say it is the most humiliating thing ever. Up to this day I have no idea what prompted my search. It’s not to say I was dressed like a ‘bad boy’ and even one's attire, whether dressed like a bad boy or not is not sufficient reason for an officer to search someone because that is blatant discrimination. Even at the age of 17 I never succumbed to peer pressure and indulged in oversize gaudy clothes...straight fitted Levis all the way thank you, I was always conservative that way and my peers accused my pants of being ‘ying’, and I was never one for clothes with big prints. I had on a pair of Levis and a plain t-shirt...so what exactly prompted that officer to call me out for a search?

Honestly before that faithful morning it never occurred to me that simply sitting in a maxi taxi minding my own business on my way to Port of Spain was suspicious activity enough to warrant an officer to search me. And they say we have more rights and freedoms than the people of Cuba? The police service needs to do a complete overhaul on the level of training that is given to officers. Officers must be trained to be seen to be and act as part of the community. Officers must be seen as pillars of respect not pillars of disrespect and champions of bullying tactics. What kind of message is the police service sending to a five year old when an officer pulls over a maxi and shouts out at a passenger ‘You Come!’

My other bone of contention is with these uppity parents of these St. Joseph students and the Parent Teacher Association who seems to represent only one type of class of schools and children. Granted the experience I mentioned above was the first and last time I was searched, as a student I do recall on many occasions making my way home from school or from the library, seeing police officers rough up and strip search students of what may be considered ‘schools of lesser quality’ such as the comprehensives and I do recall that these students would have either been making their way home or waiting for transport. The police would collar these students, clout them and search them in the middle of the road. I remember this one time seeing a female officer ‘bitch slap’ a girl, her head practically did a 360 degree turn.

Not once have I ever heard any head of the Parent Teacher Association speaking out against the police brutally meted out to students attending ‘certain’ schools. But the minute the uptown children are given a little taste of the medicine that is dished out on a daily basis to the downtown students all of a sudden we are hearing about investigations and enquiry into the police’s actions. This is nothing but another blatant example of the gross class discrimination that permeates this rotted society of ours. I also note with much amusement that the Parent Teacher Association does not also see it fit to question why a school pupil will be in possession of $1,400.00, but then again this is uptown people we're talking about here.....who knows it's probably the girl's daily allowance! ©

Mr. Maharaj You Are Wrong

Secretary general of the Maha Sabha, Satnarayan Maharaj, has out rightly confused me by his support for President George Maxwell Richards and his condemnation of the Law Association's call for the President's resignation. Mr. Maharaj's position is one of utter contradiction because on the one hand he does not support calls for the President's resignation asking rhetorically of the Law Association to show him a person in public life who has not made a 'mistake'. He then goes on to say that the Law Association should instead spend it's time criticizing the wanton wastage of public funds and alleged procurement breaches by officials involved in these projects.

Mr. Maharaj's position is one of direct contradiction because the President's actions, or in my personal opinion 'negligence' is in fact tied directly to the wanton wastage and procurement breaches to which Mr. Maharaj claims to be concerned about. Quite frankly I'm not surprised by Mr. Maharaj's comments that all public officials make mistakes, which seems to endorse President Richard's remarks that to 'err is human'. Mr. Maharaj is after all a religious man, and his position seems to be that of 'who is without sin cast the first stone'. In my own secular opinion I would like to indicate to Mr. Maharaj that in the case of a public official, especially one who holds a high an office as the President, the word mistake cannot be used as a 'synonym' for 'negligence' and gross negligence at that. Not ignoring the fact that Mr. Maharaj is a Hindu, I just want to indicate to him that in the Bible Judas, the apostle who betrayed Jesus hanged himself when the full brunt of his actions registered on his conscience. We are not asking that the President hangs himself, however when one makes a mistake, especially a material mistake one is expected to take full blame for that mistake and then take whatever necessary action is required to redeem oneself. In the case of President Richards that would be to resign. One writer in the daily newspaper even made reference to the fact that ancient Romans use to commit suicide, however his view is that they were running away from their errors. From what I have read of the ancient Romans, my view is that Romans were people who valued their honour and their names, so much so that they preferred to be dead than to live with a sullied character.

The Presidents appointment of Father Charles to the Integrity Commission, knowing fully well that this is someone who willfully committed a breach of academic ethics was not a mistake. It was a willful act on the part of the President as Father Charles himself said that the President indicated to him that 'it was no big thing'. A former university principal now president saying that plagiarism is no big thing is not a 'mistake'. As a matter of fact, that act of the President calls into question his own integrity. If Mr. Maharaj sees this as no reason for Mr. Richards to resign then this would mean that plagiarism is also no big thing for Mr. Maharaj. I would then have to check myself when reading Mr. Maharaj's weekly columns in the newspaper, need I say more? Then there is the issue of the appointment of Mr. McFarlane whom the President introduced as holding positions on several state boards. The President was aware of Mr. MacFarlane's state board positions, and if it is as the President indicated it is his 'prerogative' to appoint members of the Integrity Commission then shouldn't the President familiarize himself with the contents of the legislation which grants him the authority to do such? This again cannot be described as a mistake, it was a dereliction of duty on the part of the President.

Mr. Maharaj confuses me most when he says that the Law Association should focus on the cost over runs and procurement breaches. Doesn't Mr. Maharaj realize that the Integrity Commission is in fact one of the Institutions that would be involved in any investigation concerning the misappropriation of funds in any of these large projects? And if the Integrity Commission is one of the Institutions that guards the public purse then shouldn't it's commissioners be men of standing, men of integrity? If Father Charles can claim he committed his acts of plagiarism because of time constraints, what would time constraints cause him to do in his capacity as an Integrity Commission Mr. Maharaj? And for someone who has fought against victimization by the current ruling government how can Mr. Maharaj say that the appointment of someone to the Integrity Commission, who sits on three state boards and who is a direct employee of the state is no reason for the President to resign because it's a mistake? Mr. McFarlane is Calder Hart's employee, can Mr. McFarlene then without prejudice adjudicate on any matter that comes before him concerning Mr. Calder Hart?

As someone who is the head of an organization that represents a significant section of our population, Mr. Maharaj needs to evaluate his positions very carefully, for like the President he may very well bring the organization which he represents into disrepute in the eyes of the civil minded citizens of this country. ©