LIE TESTS FOR COPS
Several police officers in the South-West peninsula are said to be seeking legal advice to prevent them having to undergo polygraph testing set to begin later this week.
Regular and Special Reserve Police officers in the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) are to undergo the test.
And to those who may be against the lie-detector tests, Commissioner of Police Gary Griffith said yesterday “he doesn’t want them in the service”.
Griffith had previously indicated that when the testing comes on stream, he will be the first to be polygraphed and drug-tested and stood by this position yesterday.
A senior police officer said yesterday that Coast Guard personnel have found police officers letting in boats from Venezuela in the South-West as well as officers are under suspicion for protecting brothels in Penal and Siparia. It is also alleged that officers provide escort services for illegal immigrants,
The TTPS issued a release yesterday stating that the testing formed part of transformational policing for greater accountability within the service and will be conducted across all divisions of the service.
It was noted that the testing will not be limited to officers assigned to stations along the South-Western peninsula, as had been indicated previously.
“As a matter of fact, the Commissioner notes that the vast majority of officers assigned to the South-Western Division have been doing their jobs commendably. However, a few officers because of their involvement with criminal activity are permitting the entry of illegal drugs, guns and human trafficking from the mainland, are making it difficult for the vast majority of hard-working police officers in that division to be successful,” the release read.
