Trinidad Police Department twinned with NYPD

Port of Spain, Trinidad (CMC) — The Trinidad and Tobago government says the island’s police service is being twinned with the New York Police Department (NYPD).

A statement from the Ministry of National Security said that in an effort to improve the operations of the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS), National Security Minister Gary Griffith held talks with NYPD Deputy Commissioner John Miller with the goal of twining the TTPS and the NYPD.

“The driving force behind this endeavour is to provide the TTPS with the experience and knowledge transfer that can be gained from interacting with officers of the NYPD. This initiative was developed through the input and agreement of the Commissioner of the New York Police Department, Commissioner Bill Bratton, who visited Trinidad and Tobago last year for a Crime Conference,” the statement said.

It noted that Bratton had a catalyst role in turning around crime in several cities around the world, including New York City.

“New York City has, over the years, gone from being one of the most crime-ridden cities in the mid-nineties to being one of the safest cities today in the US. This drastic change was as a result of the revamping and improvement of policies associated with law enforcement.

“Twining the TTPS with the NYPD will allow for our local officers to get first hand exposure to how the NYPD manages COMPSTAT and, by extension, domain awareness, community policing intelligence and counter-terrorism. They will also get real-time exposure on the beat, including covert operations,” the statement said.

The statement said that NYPD detectives will also visit Trinidad and Tobago “to provide updates on practices and techniques that can improve crime scene investigations and will aid in improving the detection rate here in Trinidad and Tobago”.

The statement said that Griffith had also discussed with Miller the possibility of having a suitable officer of the NYPD based in Trinidad to provide guidance when required on approaches to reduce violence in schools as well as on the enhancement of the National Security Special Operations Group (NSSOG).

Griffith said that he is not trying to replicate exactly what was previously done in New York City, but noted there are basic principles that can be utilised to cause positive transformation in Trinidad and Tobago. He indicated that there is a strong need for the TTPS to operate on important pillars of good leadership.