The guns on the port

EDITORIAL

Taken from Spice Grenada

The recent discovery of several rifles and some ammunition on the St. George’s Port brings into sharp focus the strategic plan by the Ministry of National Security to deal with illegal activities on the island. THE NEW TODAY would want to believe that the Royal Grenada Police Force (RGPF) might have in place a general plan for the security of the nation in terms of dealing with certain illegal activities.

However, it is not known whether the Ministry of National Security which is headed by Prime Minister Tillman Thomas has come up with a plan of its own to augment that of the Police High Command. If there is no plan in place by the Ministry of National Security then as a matter of urgency one must be formulated for the general security of the entire Tri-island State.

Despite the grave financial strains on the public purse, there is need for someone to be appointed as National Security Advisor to the Prime Minister and Minister of National Security. This paper does not expect Mr. Thomas to be an expert in security matters since he has no training in military science given his profession as an attorney-at-law. The National Democratic Congress (NDC) inherited a State that was badly lacking in terms of security.

It is a fact that the Special Branch of the police force was more engaged in espionage of citizens in order to please the then government of the day. And even most if not all of the ships belonging to the Coast Guard unit were in a state of disrepair. The harsh reality of the situation is that monies that were given by Trinidad and Tobago to assist the Coast Guard were used to pay salaries of civil servants under the former New National Party (NNP) government of ex-Prime Minister, Dr. Keith Mitchell.

The government of the day needs to find solutions to the problem of those Coast Guard vessels that are not currently in operation. How long can the country continue to pay these men in uniform who through no fault of theirs are not fully engaged in the job they are hired to do for the citizens of the country?

There is a general feeling that the police force itself is doing great harm to its own self on security matters. Two of the more important stations - The Port Police and Central Police Station on the Carenage - are often seen as the places where the High Command choose to dump officers who fall out of grace with their superiors.

And the truth of the matter is that the Port Police is critical in the fight against criminal activities since a lot of the illegal drugs find their way into the country through our seaports. The NEW TODAY is calling for a new thinking by the Police High Command and to ensure that some of the best officers in the force become part of the Port Police unit in order to provide greater security at this important port of entry in the country. No one should construe this to suggest that the men on the port are not doing the best possible job in the circumstances.

However, there is need for someone with greater knowledge and experience in fighting criminal activities similar to the CID and Drug Squad to become part of the Port Police unit. In addition, there are excellent police officers whose talents and brains are not being fully utilised by RGPF. It is time to engage these officers and allow for some more fresh thinking to emerge.

This can be done by the erection of Suggestion Boxes at strategic places in some police stations in which officers can be given an opportunity to make suggestions on how the force can deal more effectively in the fight against crime. It might even shock some of the members of the High Command the kinds of important suggestions that might come forward from within the rank and file of the force.

The guns on the port brings back into memory the “guns in the barrel” that became part of the strategic plan by the leftist New Jewel Movement (NJM) to overthrow the duly democratic elected government of late Prime Minister, Eric Gairy in 1979. It is unthinkable that any political grouping in the English-speaking Caribbean would resort to the use of force to bring down a government in this part of the hemisphere. However, the trading in arms and ammunition could more than likely be linked to the illegal drug trade not only in Grenada but in the Eastern Caribbean.

It is imperative that the Ministry of National Security review on a constant basis whatever security plan is in place since those engaged in illegal acts often find new and more creative and sophisticated ways to beat the system.