When Erla Harewood-Christopher assumed the role of acting commissioner of police in December 2022 following the vacation of her predecessor, McDonald Jacob, I was optimistic that things would change and our approach to crime would improve. Her official appointment in February 2023 as our country’s first female commissioner of police …
Read More »Noble: The problem with Dr Paul Richards’ grilling of Police Commissioner
“The struggle of man against power is the struggle of memory against forgetting.” Milan Kundera, a Czech and French novelist, in The Book of Laughter and Forgetting (1979). The book discusses how people tolerate the torture and suffering over which they have no control. These lessons apply to us as …
Read More »Dear Editor: Senator Richards must prove allegations against Alexander, or apologise!
“[…] Dr Paul Richards is not only an independent senator, but also a very experienced journalist. He ought to know better. “He has an obligation to provide the evidence [against Senior Superintendent Roger Alexander from the TV6 Beyond the Tape programme], or publicly withdraw his statement and apologise…” The following …
Read More »Daly Bread: Criminals ducking the lack of political will
A New Year traditionally renews feelings of hope. Realism may dash hope so commentators feel pressured not to write gloomily during the Christmas/New Year season. My first column of last year invited a re-imagining of the possibilities of sustainable co-operation within communities. I had been departing from the subject of …
Read More »Daly Bread: Mamaguy in reflection season—TTPS, Gov’t and Business community must improve
There is a discernible season, which commences on Independence Day on 31 August and ends when the annual National Awards Ceremony takes place on the evening of Republic Day on 24 September, which falls next Sunday. That period may be categorised as a season because it characterized by certain events …
Read More »Daly Bread: Here we go again—Police Vetting Unit is doomed to fail
The latest responses of the current Government and the Commissioner of Police to the crippling wave of murder and violent crime are the lame products of two decades of denial and a current desperation to say anything that will deflect the pressing questions about crime. The hard but unpleasant truth …
Read More »Noble: Gazing in the mirror—will T&T move forward in faith, or face danse macabre?
All nations tell stories about themselves. These narratives tell us where we came from, who we are and where we want to go. Consequently, they change as the storytellers provide contesting viewpoints. The thread is twisted by grief, sentimentality, pride, or shame. Bare facts form only part of the saga …
Read More »Daly Bread: Indifference to killing and distress—without realism, honesty and empathy, “talks” will get us nowhere
Put plainly and simply, it is not possible to maintain the socio-economic status quo and at the same time expect to reduce violent crime. That is one reason why the announcement by the Prime Minister that there will be “talks” on crime is not impressive. This announcement was made in …
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