Griffith, Martin George question new police units
Griffith, Martin George question new police units
FORMER Commissioner of Police (CoP) Gary Griffith and attorney Martin George have questioned the rationale behind the creation of special vetted units in the police service to root out corrupt police officers.
The Prime Minister spoke about these units at a PNM political meeting in San Fernando on Saturday.
Dr Rowley raised the matter again on Sunday during a National Security Council meeting at the Diplomatic Centre in St Ann’s.
In a WhatsApp reply to Newsday on Monday, Griffith described the creation of these units as senseless.
“You are going to have a vetted unit within the police service to vet police officers and then who is going to vet the vetted unit?
“When does it end?”
Griffith said the exercise of rooting out corrupt police officers in the service was taking place while he was CoP. Units such as the Special Branch, Special Operations Response Team (SORT) and the police’s social media monitoring unit were involved in that exercise.
He lamented that some of the units used to address the issue of rogue elements in the police service were shut down after he demitted office.
George, a former Police Service Commission (PSC) member, was concerned about the increased pay proposed for officers in the units Rowley referred to.
He believed this could increase corruption in the police service instead of reducing it.
“Money is never a good motivator to get people to do the right thing.”
Griffith, Martin George question new police units
By: CLINT CHAN TACK
