You Get What You Pay For
By Geisha Kowlessar (Guardian).Bratton: Poor wages open door to bribes…A tool, a fool and a mule. These are the only three things former New York City police commissioner William “Bill” Bratton said would work for low wages, as he emphasised the need for better salaries for police officers Bratton was fielding questions from members of the audience, which comprised the different units of the protective services, business community and other stakeholders, during a conference yesterday at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, Port-of-Spain.
Bratton was on a two-day visit to the country to share his knowledge and conduct a “diagnostic analysis” on the Police Service. Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, who was listed as another feature speaker, failed to attend the event. Speaking on the topic “Cops count, police matter,” Bratton’s immediate response to poor salaries and low morale in the organisation was: “You get what you pay for,” which resulted in resounding applause from the audience.
He said meagre pay and failure to properly award officers who went above and beyond the call of duty paved the way for officers to accept bribes and other inducements. He said in some Latin American countries the pay was extremely poor and this resulted only in poor quality officers being selected for the service. On crime prevention, he said that began with sound leadership and one that had optimism and vision.
“It must be a vision that more can be done, optimism that more can be done, leadership that is able to generate support...voluntarily, community, business and government, with the idea that not only this can be done but must be done,” Bratton said. “We must not only focus on the organisation morale but the personal morale and one of the ways to deal with that is putting people in positions where they could perform to the best of their ability.”
He also told officers that their duty was not only “hook ’em and book up,” meaning arrest and detain, but their job was multifaceted and also entailed working with all communities, rich and poor, and showing favour to none. “Policing is no longer response-oriented...It does have the ability to deliver on that promise of democracy of freedom of fear,” Bratton said. “Can we get rid of all crime? No, but we can certainly do more to reduce it.”
On crime-fighting tools for the 21st century, Bratton said in the US there were “real-time crime centres,” the first of which was established in New York. “This is taking the idea that information made into intelligence is power,” he said.
“In a police officer responding to a call, the real-time crime centre is already analysing the computer files...what is happening at that address? Is there a gun registered there? Is there a personal warrant there? How frequently are policemen there? So by the time an officer gets there he has intelligence to help him protect his life and understand what he is going into,” he said.
Bratton said increasing technology has also allowed foreign police officers to make out reports, even while in the homes of victims and in police cars, which were immediately relayed to headquarters so this could be transformed into “real-time maps.” National Security Minister Gary Griffith, who was also present, agreed there must be proper compensation for officers. For instance, he said giving an officer $500 for risking his life was not acceptable.
Acting Police Commissioner Stephen Williams, who said a holistic effort was needed to move the Police Service forward, added: “We need to put the entire pool of key matters all together and not select some, because with only some we will not be able to achieve the kind of successes the country is looking forward to.”
He urged that the Police Service be “singled out” for special attention by the Government, as renumeration was a critical component. In making reference to former UK members of the Special Anti-Crime Unit (Sautt), Williams said these officers were paid “extremely well.”
No magic bullet to fight criminalsDuring the conference, Bratton said some members of his team were out on the field with police officers to get a “first-hand experience” of what was happening in T&T. After the three-hour conference, Bratton then met with various stakeholders, including members of the Police Complaints Authority to discuss concerns and solutions.
A media conference scheduled after the meeting, however, was cancelled. One official said this was because “time ran out” and instead a press release would be issued on the key issues from the meeting. Later this week, Bratton said, he is expected to fly to the United Arab Emirates to host a similar conference.
“I accept these engagements to talk about not only what I know, but to also learn, so I fully expect the two days spent in your country will be the opportunity to take back with me my ideas and experiences,” he added. He warned, however, that there was neither a quick fix approach nor magic bullet to fight crime. In any organisation, including the Police Service, Bratton said, there would always be some level of corruption.
Former New York police commissioner William Bratton shakes hands with National Security Minister Gary Griffith at yesterday’s “A Nation to Defend” conference at the Hyatt Regency, Port-of-Spain. Looking on are Chief of Defence Staff Brigadier General Kenrick Maharaj, left, and acting Police Commissioner Stephen Williams. Photo: SHIRLEY BAHADUR
