Earlier this year, I urged that the acting Commissioner of Police should be confirmed, immediately. I saw no merit in the Prime Minister's illogical assumption that by keeping Mr. Snaggs in an acting capacity he will be motivated the perform at a higher level. I saw the failure to elevate the Acting Commissioner as tantamount to sending a message that the administration does not bestow confidence in him; consequently, his interim status would not enable him to enjoy the respect and support of his subordinates. Such a situation cannot auger well for the efficiency and effectiveness of the department. I am pleased to note that others have been pressing for the COP's appointment but to no avail.

After reviewing the facts as I perceive them, I conclude that the Prime Minister is politicizing the Police Department. Consider the following: prior to Commissioner Guy's exit, Mr. Manning was reported to have said that he was in favor of a Commissioner from outside of the police ranks. Obviously, the Police Service Commission who is charged with the responsibility of recommending the COP's appointment has not done so because that entity is well aware that the Prime Minister's veto awaits. The Commission is, therefore, compromised.

Next, we heard of the acting COP warning groups against illegal protests on "Budget Day" because the full brunt of the law will be brought to bear against them. From all that can be determined, the planned marches were "protests against crime" and obviously intended to steal the Prime Minister's thunder, especially because the UNC had signaled that it would not attend Parliament on that day. As it developed, there was a peaceful march in Chaguanas and the police arrested a few prominent participants for taking part in a public demonstration for which they were not granted a permit.

The coup de grace was the appointment of a Brigadier to command all protective services in the country to fight crime. Is this a devious way of bypassing the Constitution to appoint a Minister of Defense disguised under another name? I am eager to see the statute from which his powers emanate. Is Mr. Prime Minister paying attention to the conflict in the USA triggered by President Bush putting National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice in charge of coordinate the rebuilding of Iraq over Defense Secretary Rumsfeld's Pentagon where the responsibility correctly lies, and over Secretary of State Powell who is responsible for smoothing the diplomatic waters? Perhaps it is assumed that all the Services in Trinidad & Tobago will humbly bow to the will of the master and promote "blind obedience" to the sublime.

The foregoing observations lead me to conclude:
a) the Prime Minister had no intention to have the Police Department run by a career police officer;
b) by keeping Mr. Snaggs in a tenuous position he could be manipulated into controlling the department as desired by the administration;
c) the administration made a decision that its "Budget Day" was not to be upstaged by any protests and ensured that the obedient police department make an example of dissenters. I take it as a fact that the marchers failed to obtain the necessary permit but I am unalterably of the belief that the spirit of the law was to ensure public safety not to punish those who peacefully demonstrate against reigning powers. If it were not so, all the demonstrators in front of the Flour Mill would have been arrested. Perhaps if the department was as conscientious about enforcing vehicular traffic laws they would make a better contribution to society.
The irony of such injudicious exercise of power and authority has now given an otherwise inept opposition a rally cry that if you do not belong to the party in power you will be downtrodden, the truth notwithstanding.
d) Putting a Brigadier over the Police Service, which is charged with the responsibility of crime fighting, including the issuance of permits for public demonstrations, defies logic. It is as ridiculous as an adulterous husband bringing in his "deputy" to tell his wife how to take care of the house and children.

As the protestations rise in defense of the "good intentions" assumed, I remain steadfast in the belief that there is an inherent human failing that causes those who ascend to power to assume a supremacy that drains lesser mortals of their intelligence and makes fools of us all.

Selwyn P. Nimblett
Brooklyn, N.Y.
selwynpnimblett@aol.com