Dear Editor: Crime, corruption and cockroaches; Griffith was appointed to protect elites, not regular Trinbagonians 


“The national conversation on crime—as advanced by the same elite—has been about a few devious miscreants holding the country to ransom; and once they are brought to heel, the country’s crime problem will be solved.

“Unfortunately the wider public has for lack of any other voices openly countering the rhetoric, innocently bought into it. The long established fact is that crime and criminality is a direct result of rampant and debilitating poverty and the absence or suppression of opportunities to young people of the so-called under class…”

The following Letter to the Editor on the election of ex-National Security Minister Gary Griffith as Commissioner of Police was submitted by former Communication Workers Union (CWU) president Laurence Brown:

Photo: Ex-National Security Minister and TTFA security advisor Gary Griffith (left), former SPORTT facility manager Anthony Blake (right) and TTFA manager Richard Piper await kick off between Trinidad and Tobago and USA on 8 June 2017 in Commerce City, Colorado.
(Courtesy Allan V Crane/CA Images/Wired868)

Well it has officially commenced. The ruling elite has been successful in activating yet another component in its plan to completely dominate the society—having already achieved total control of all the existing conventional political parties and ensured that the one currently in office carried out its legislative agenda, particularly the Anti-Crime legislation.

They now have a Police Chief of their choice, an extreme right winger who will ensure that the ordinary people on the ground—cockroaches; his words—know their place and stay in line.

It won’t be very long before the sight of armoured military type vehicles is commonplace in our streets, all under the guise of crime fighting—which the population, already deliberately put under siege, will unwittingly welcome with open arms.

Initially on the surface, there will appear to be major success in crime fighting, endearing the new chief to an unsuspecting public. However it will not stop there, as the example of similar so-called third world countries has amplified.

Nowhere in the administration’s Anti-Gang Legislation, has any mention been made of the economic/financial gangs and gangsters who plunder the public purse and engage in corrupt activities, to the detriment of our country with repeated impunity. This was deliberate and meant to protect the elite.

Photo: Late US television personality Anthony Bourdain (centre) has dinner with representatives from Trinidad and Tobago’s Syrian/Lebanese community in 2017.

The national conversation on crime—as advanced by the same elite—has been about a few devious miscreants holding the country to ransom; and once they are brought to heel, the country’s crime problem will be solved.

Unfortunately the wider public has—for lack of any other voices openly countering the rhetoric—innocently bought into it. The long established fact is that crime and criminality is a direct result of rampant and debilitating poverty and the absence or suppression of opportunities to young people of the so-called under class.

Of course the elite know and understand this; they also comprehend that the eventual response from the same class that they despise, will be civil action of one form or another. This is the exact reason why they have been taking all the precautionary measures, under a legal cover, to ensure that the status quo remains intact.

In all this, the self proclaimed people’s organisations, particularly the trade unions, are in a daze like Alice in wonderland. It is only a matter of time before it becomes public knowledge, how many of these organisations are directly or indirectly on the payroll of the firmly established ‘massa’ class.

I fear for us all.

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8 comments

  1. The interlectual dishonesty of comrade is startling. To mmirepresent Gary Griffith’s comments about cockroaches is pathetic. Mr Griffith was referring to criminals as cockroaches. He reiterated this point in follow up interviews. To deliberately misrepresent his words is intellectually dishonest. This article leads me wonder if the author, an ex union boss, stands to benefit from maintaining the status quo. To republish this nonsense under the guise of journalism is reprehensible and a glaring example of fake news.

    Lasana, if one man tells you it’s night and another tells you it’s day, it is your job as a journalist to stick your head outside and determin who is telling the truth, not publish both statements.

    • I thought only Donald Trump believed that everything he did not agree with was automatically fake news. First of all, someone does not cease to be a human because of a criminal deed and there are many stories of criminals who were rehabilitated and went on to contribute to society.
      Secondly, if the author believes that Gary Griffith sees only certain types as criminals as “cockroaches”, then that is an opinion that he is entitled to based on news in the public domain. That’s called fair comment.
      Griffith continued to have an excellent relationship with Jack Warner, for instance, despite Warner being on Interpol’s most wanted list. Why isn’t everyone allowed respect and due process in the same way? Only a judge can determine who is a criminal, so it is curious to hear a commissioner of police use that sort of language.
      Finally, I don’t have to agree or disagree with an opinion piece. Once it is not slanderous and can lead to a healthy conversation, then it is publishable.

  2. Josie Ache-De Goulard

    No offense Mr. Browne BUT I think it is disrespectful that you could even think of writing something like this with a headline such as it is when Mr. Griffith has not even been given his official instrument of appointment and has not even begun to try to do what he is being hired to do!!!!!!
    You people NEED TO STOP prejudging others and perhaps look in the mirror first.

  3. I am not sure what are the objections to Gary Griffith being appointed Commissioner of Police… as far I can see, the objections verbalised in the newspapers are merely rantings of small minds. The best reasons for appointing him are, (i) he qualified according to the procedure adopted (and agreed by both political parties) subsequent to the Gibbs and Ewatski appointments, (ii) the country needs something radically different to combat the crime tsunami. Of course, there are myriads of other reasons, but these are the 2 most important.

    With respect to the TTPS union and the position of non-cooperation if Griffith is appointed, this position is the very definition of stupidity. First of all, the job of selecting a Commissioner of Police is solely in the domain of the Police Services Commission (PSC). For police officers to refuse to accept the legal and valid appointment is to trespass on the domain of the PSC.

    Further, if I were Griffith, any non-cooperation would be viewed as misconduct in office and failure to obey orders would certainly be deemed gross misconduct. Dismissal would follow soon after. If the entire First Division, banking on seniority and experience, were to object then the entire lot would be dismissed. The crime situation is bad enough that we do not need further stumbling blocks on the journey to recovery. It is imperative that everyone cooperate with each other, and if this is not happening then the obstacles must be removed. That is just common sense.

  4. Long on rhetoric, short on evidence. Quite possible that the writer has been traumatised by Griffith’s appointment and has become unhinged.

  5. Nothing says a”absence or suppression” of opportunity like: Servol, YTEP, CCC, MYLAT, John D, Sando Tech, free primary and secondary school, GATE, free early childhood education and others I am probably not aware of.

  6. Hi
    I pray that you are wrong in your analysis but …

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