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Talk is cheap, Mr Philbert
How did Debbie Ramsingh die? Was she murdered, or did she drown? What blame should the officers at Debe and Barrackpore police stations take for her death? These are some of the questions that flashed across my mind when I read about the death of this young mother of a two-year-old daughter.
Ramsingh fell into a river while trying to get away from a gang that pursued her in the dark along the river bank. The trouble started when Ramsingh refused to dance with a man at the “Big Apple” club in Debe. She was assaulted by a gang of seven men who chased her outside. Some of the men caught her brother Randy and tried to drown him, but he managed to escape with the help of his brother, and then they ran straight to Debe Police Station to seek help for their sister (who they thought was hiding from her attackers in the bushes).
Debe Police Post is less than a minute’s drive from the scene of the crime. The brothers begged the police to return with them, so that they could find their sister. They were told the scene of the crime was “outside of their jurisdiction,” and were, instead, directed to Barrackpore Police Station.
Forty-five minutes later, the desperate brothers arrived at Barrackpore Police Station. The two officers on duty refused to leave and bluntly told the men that their sister “had probably run away with a man, and was in a house with the same men who chased and attacked her.” With no help from the police, the Ramsingh family searched endlessly, until Debbie’s lifeless body was found.
Our new and well-intentioned acting Commissioner of Police, James Philbert, came out shooting from the hips after a retreat in Tobago: “We are about service and assisting the public, and the way some officers interact with the public will no longer be tolerated,” said Philbert. Unfortunately, Mr Philbert is yet to tell us what action he has taken against the indifferent and insulting officers from the Debe and Barrackpore stations. Could they have prevented Ramsingh’s murder/death?
Two years ago, Philbert’s predecessor, Trevor Paul, had announced that police officers were not entitled to turn victims away on the nonsensical basis that the crime scene did not fall within their district. Nobody knows the boundaries of the districts of police stations. Trinidad is a tiny island, and it is expected that victims would rush to the nearest police station for assistance.
The indifferent and nonchalant attitude of police officers, who invoke arid technicalities like: “It not in our district,” has caused enough grief and suffering, and Mr Philbert should now make it clear that officers are not entitled to turn away victims on such ludicrous grounds.
The call for greater co-operation from the public by Philbert will never be heeded, unless officers change their attitude and understand that they are there to serve the public. The much-needed transformation to change the culture from arrogance and brawn to polite and sensitive customer service is yet to happen.
Every week people visit my office to complain about the attitude and behaviour of officers. My nephew was robbed recently at gunpoint in Barrackpore, when he stopped to grab a quick bite after a hard day’s work. When he visited the police station (five minutes away), the officer made fun of him, asking numerous senseless questions. The officer foolishly treated his distress as a source of amusement. His colleague indicated that it was late, and hence my nephew should come back the following day to make a report. There was no attempt to rush to the crime scene to make an effort to nab the robbers.
A bar owner was robbed at gunpoint in Reform Village, but the bag that was snatched from the owner’s hands did not contain the day’s sales, but her lunch containers. The constable on duty at Gasparillo Police Station was so insensitive that he left the victim in tears. He was rude and interrogated the woman as though she was the criminal. He demanded she disclose the value of the empty lunch containers, despite the poor traumatised woman’s pleas that she did not know the exact value of the containers, and refused to take a report.
Stories about the stupid attitude of police officers abound. Their arrogance and insensitivity have eroded public confidence, to the point where people refuse to subject themselves to further predictable trauma by going to make reports in the police station.
Unless Mr Philbert can come up with a plan to monitor the reaction, interaction and response of police officers to members of the public who visit police stations, his call for greater co-operation from the public in the fight against crime is bound to fail.
Our police stations operate like branches of the central statistical authority, where they simply record the commission of crimes, but do precious little about solving them. They seem more interested in delaying and dilly-dallying, so that criminals are given enough time to escape before they visit the crime scene. The atmosphere in the police station is cold, uninviting and unwelcoming. Victims are nervous because they seldom expect a friendly and helpful encounter with the police.
There is a proud reputation of non-service in the Police Service. Mr Philbert’s humility and tireless efforts in his short stint as police commissioner, thus far, is worthy of commendation, but talk is cheap, and action is rare and precious.
By Anand Ramlogan
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Anand has simply reiterated what I have been saying all along at my blog (http://jumbiewatch.blogspot.com/).
This is what you get when you take people into a police force with 3 'O' levels.
3 'O' levels isn't even adequate to sell gas in a government gas station, or cloth for a Syrian.
But we want to take these dunceys, and teach them law, and manners. If it was that easy to learn law, everyone would be a lawyer and there would be no police dunceys.
Sure, you want to argue with me that we have dunceys with a law degree. Eh heh. Check back how long it take them; some cases up to 10 and 12 years. Yeah, if I train a monkey for 12 years, it go write a thesis too.
And if bigger monkeys training junior monkeys, all dey learn is to scratch each other back and look for louse (lice if you want proper English).
As long as we have PNM monkey antics in hiring dunceys and party brown-nosers, we will always be at the mercy of the government.
I keep saying, these people failed in the education system, now you want to put them into a position of responsibility where they have to learn more than high school taught them.. what you expect? Not resistance and indiscipline? I bet there is no end of studies that show when a child (or adult) cannot learn, the first action is to 'play up'.
But trinis like bending over and taking it from Pa-trick and company... it getting harder to feel sorry for them.
I fight against the apathy induced by the present situation.
It's obvious that many would-be readers of the news avoid reading or watching the news in T&T, and I am so tempted as well.
From several thousands miles away I can't expect my thoughts to make any significant difference in T&T. That would be rather grandiose - wouldn't it? After all who the hell am I? Certainly no 'big fish' like Colm Imbert - for example - not that I truly believe he is a big fish.
In many ways I am inspired by my colleagues, and draw strength from them to write these few words. Anand, Trini.t.o.o and Jumbie are some of the people who just don't give up. I can't let them down. So if I don't write any of this for me, I write it for what they stand for. My real hope is that minds unite. That's all. No - the government does not have to be overthrown or anything like that - although it might be a wishful thought. The main weakeness of those in the electorate is that they are disunited, divided and ruled.
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The situation with the police as described in the Debbie Ramsingh case is not new. Scores of people in Trinidad have witnessed the same. But what have they done about it? They sulk to themselves, lick their wounds and shut up. What else can they do? In general the law does not function efficiently, police enforcement of the law does not function efficiently, and nobody at the top demonstrates a will to change anything. Oh yes they full ah mout'. Mout' fuh so!!
The brainwashed and the idiotic gathered in their large numbers down in Woodford Square recently as the vote of no-confidence was predictably defeated. The opposition was at risk of losing from the outset - being heavily outnumbered.
Dana Seetahal in her Guardian Commentary of 2008-09-14 alerted us to the fact that the Hollywood Commissioner of police did not call upon the crowd to disperse in compliance with section III of the Summary Offences Act, for failure to notify the Commissioner of the meeting! The COP must be given at least 48 hours notice for the holding of such a public meeting - a political one at its very heart. One must wonder whether a similar or even smaller crowd had gathered in Chaguanas, would they have been dispersed or arrested for that matter. Enforcement of the law is rather selective, one might be inclinded to think. Oh but they on Monkey Rock know how to play with words.
Be it resolved that the Police on Monkey Rock are political robots of the state - their inept functions, directly linked to ineptitude at the top. Anybody want to debate dat? Nah - doh even try, yuh go lorse.
...many of us will remember the little old song in "PRIMARY SCHOOL (Junior Kindergarten)"...as we all followed the leader and sang tra-la-la-la-la...to me it was meant to keep us all happy and oblivious of time as the day went by in a blip and we went home skipping and humming the tune all the way...!
...today my friends, I don't mean to belittle the death of Debbie Ramsingh or the pain and suffering of her relatives as a result of this tragedy, but once more this serves to highlight that the people are still somehow living in "Junior Kindergarten" and skipping along merrily following "Their Leader" from the very top right down to street level happy and contented with things as they are...and yes, all the while no one takes or accept responsibility for their actions and their is no accountability of any kind..., as is demonstrated daily by the Prime Minister and his Cabinet as well as his Ministers in the present regime and it filters all the way down the rank and file ...!
...is it therefore surprising that the police officers are simply following in the footsteps of their leaders and doing as they do...?
...take a look back at crime...? the Prime Minister said something to the effect what crime..???.the "Opposition" responsible for the increase in crime...then followed the Minister of National Security ...in three years all cime gone...with more "arrestses"...the useless Commissioner of Police Trevor Paul who finally admitted that he did not know how hard his job was, after how many "donkey years" at it...?
...and the list move on to Transportation...how may excuses were given by the Minister Colm Imbert...?..He reads the Newspapers and replies to the critics but thats all you will ever get from him...promises and more promises...but don't look for any results...you're just asking for too much...but he too is an expert at excuses...then move on to Education...how many...schools are unfit and need repairs and children cannot get a decent place to learn...ask Hazel Manning and the now Education Minister...? All you will ever get is dumb excuses and more dumber excuses...and more promises for the next thirty years or so...Health Care and Hospitals...ask Jerry Narace for a "nancy story"...because thats all you will ever get...maybe another promise to fix it in about thirty years also, if you ever live that long for lack of health care...who's going to around...then...?!
...the list can go on for miles at a time when we don't have the energy to go on and on...but where are the people in all of this...?...what are they doing other than simply rolling over and accepting it as part of their daily life in Trinidad & Tobago...?
...if nothing has change over the last forty six years of PNM governance, and things has gotten really worse in the last seven years of the same administration by this regime...what are we exactly expecting to change...?
...the Police Officers are not only inept and ill suited for the positions they hold, but so are the Senior Officers and their respective Ministers within the Government...they could not find their own "elbows in the dark"...!
...so who's going to hold the Police Officers accountable and responsible for their actions or lack of actions..."..Philbert...?
...maybe the time has come to pay these people by the amount of work they can demonstrate they have done for the day...how many entries they have made in their diaries, how many arrests they have made for the day, how many court cases they have won and how many criminals they caught have been convicted for the crimes committed...maybe when every man and his boss has to account for the work they have completed "successfully" each day...and "if no work then no pay"...maybe then somebody will start delivering to the people who pays their salaries for the things they are supposed to be doing...all the way to the very top of the Regime and his cohorts...!
...but until then...its the same old story...follow the leader and tra-la-la-la-la...every body happy and skipping and jumping for joy...things are all fun for Patrick and his Boys in "the land of Milk and Honey"...remember Patrick's promise all last year...?
...so don't expect much from Philbert, he only following his "leader" Patrick...and don't expect much different from the Police Officers, they only following in the footsteps of their "leader" Philbert...and the merry go round continues...tra-la-la-la-la
...and to make matters worse for one and all...we movin up wid Patrick... no...?
...goodluck...Trini.t.o.o