IMPROVING the process of appointing a new police commissioner will be high on the Police Service Commission’s (PolSC) priority list.

This was said yesterday by the commission’s new chairman, Dr Wendell Wallace, at the investiture ceremony of its new members at the President’s House in St Ann’s.

The other four sworn members were lawyer Annika Fitz-Browne; former consultant to the Office of the Chief Personnel Officer (CPO), Ethel Hector-Berkley; Roger Babooram, former Petrotrin human resources specialist, and returning member Ian Ramdhanie, criminology and public safety educator.

Wallace spoke to the media after receiving his instrument of nomination from Christine Kangaloo.

Commenting on how he felt about his new appointment, he said: “It’s truly a humbling experience. I am very happy and very excited to be able to serve Trinidad and Tobago in another capacity, so I am really grateful for this opportunity.

Asked if the process of appointing a new police commissioner would be the commission’s first priority, he replied: “In taking up the position as it currently stands, I am aware that there is a process for the appointment of the new police commissioner. Police Commissioner at that time. I have not seen this process in its entirety and I am sure you will appreciate it as I am a new appointee.

He added: “With the new commission, the intention is to move forward with the appointment of the new commissioner and one of the things I have in mind is to ensure that there is a section appropriate for the appointment of police commissioners and deputy commissioners. because from my understanding there is no definitive rubric. So that’s something I’d like to work on as a priority.

Trickle-down effect

Wallace said he planned to meet with current Commissioner of Police Erla Christopher and the director of the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS).

“The first thing to do would be to continue the work of the outgoing commission and ensure that the mandate of the commission is fulfilled,” he said.

He added: “One of the things I intend to do is work with the Police Commissioner to ensure there is a trickle-down effect. For example, I would like to see greater accountability as a researcher as well, because that is my primary function. Last year I reviewed the most recent report and found that while it was good, there was much more to be done.

“For example, you want to know what people in Tobago think about the police, not just Trinidad… so you want to divide that into smaller areas. I want the data to actually be able to show how well TTPS is working,” he said.

Wallace was also asked about how the commission plans to address the problem of officers not showing up in court to present evidence in cases such as the recent case involving seven officers who were indicted in 2023 for “hijacking funds” from Sangre Grande businessmen.

The police officers were allowed to move freely on Monday by Maître Sarah De Silva after the prosecution failed, on two consecutive occasions, to comply with the court’s instructions.

Wallace said: “I want to make sure that the TTPS executive gets the message that you need to ensure that those within your jurisdiction do things in accordance with policing. Certainly, I don’t understand why a file has to take so long to reach the DPP (Director of Public Prosecutions), so the team will work closely with the commissioner to ensure that these files are submitted on time, et cetera .

He said: “You want to ensure there is some level of accountability for those who break the law. These police officers who have not submitted their files on time and who have not fulfilled their mandate of maintaining order, because if confidence in the police department is lost, we are in a very bad situation and I don’t say for one moment that trust is lost, but we have to work to earn trust, get the public to trust the police and when you build trust, you build legitimacy for policing.

No conflict of interest

Responding to concerns raised by the opposition in the House of Representatives on Monday over his current position as commissioner of the Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) and an article he authored titled “Mass Shootings are here to stay,” Wallace confirmed that he did in fact list his position within the EBC on his CV when he submitted it for the position for which he was nominated to the commission.

He asserted that his position within the EBC did not constitute a conflict of interest and explained that after careful reference to the powers of the EBC and the commission as set out in the Constitution, he found that there was no overlap of functions.

Commenting on concerns raised by opposition MP Dr Roodal Moonilal that the thoughts in the article would affect his ability to fight crime, he said: “I think if Dr Moonilal had probably well read the article, then he would understand that I was speaking in my capacity as a criminologist presenting the data.

He added that “the mass shootings did not start yesterday and, based on the trend I was seeing, that is the context in which this statement was made.”