WHY CITIZENS DON’T TRUST THE POLICE

FEWER people are reporting crimes to the police.

The freeing last week of seven police officers charged with extortion illustrates why there is a lack of trust in those sworn to protect and serve.

A just-revealed 2023 survey found that 82 per cent of nationals are living in fear of crime and 83 per cent are fearful for the welfare of a family member.

That means that one in five citizens had faith in the police service.

Since then, the public’s confidence in the police service may have slipped even further.

In the ever-worsening crime epidemic, more people are undoubtedly afraid of being murdered, assaulted, or robbed.

The police detection rate is abysmally low – in single digits with respect to some serious crimes.

And even in those cases, the prosecutor may be curiously absent from the court hearings.

The level of public confidence in the police is lower in Trinidad and Tobago than in most other countries, a review of available statistics has revealed.

According to the local survey, done by the Police Service Commission, an overwhelming majority of citizens are afraid to be on the streets at night.

International research has found that in societies with little confidence in law enforcement, citizens are less likely to report crimes or cooperate with the police.

“Distrust of the police can lead to social unrest and heightened feelings of injustice,” an American study reported last year.

Community policing is seen as an important factor in building public trust.

A community policing initiative was set up in 2011 by then Commissioner Dwayne Gibbs as a measure to restore the eroded confidence in the police service.

But Gibbs’ successor Stephen Williams scrapped the system.

In 2016, Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley promised a review and return of community policing.

That has not taken place.

Corruption among police officers is another reason for low public confidence.

Several officers have been charged with wrongdoing and there is a perception that dishonesty is rife among lawmen.

The Police Complaints Authority takes its own sweet time in handling enquiries, even while officers are accused of heinous crimes.

The American report stressed: “Trust in the police is essential for ensuring that they are able to maintain public order.”

In T&T, law enforcement has lost the war against brutal criminals, even though police bosses boast about being “in control.”

Commissioner Erla Harewood-Christopher said recently: “We are in control and we are able to control the increase in violent crime.”

The nation gasped in horror.

T&T is heading to anarchy similar to what exists in Haiti, where law and order have virtually vanished and gangsters rule the road.

Harewood-Christopher has not promised any measures to improve public trust in her troops, and National Security Minister Fitzgerald Hinds is as vacant on the issue as he is about many aspects of his crucial portfolio.

The police service remains defined by its pervasive failure to prevent and solve crimes and to bring law-breaking officers to justice.

It is no surprise, therefore, that citizens’ confidence is continuing to decline.

In fact, it is an unusually brave – or senselessly irrational – person who would have faith in the Police Service.