Despite efforts to engage the community, not a single resident turned up for the TTPS Port of Spain Division’s town hall meeting at the BP Renegades Panyard on Charlotte Street on Wednesday night.
According to Acting Inspector Joel Braithwaite, who has been involved in the initiative since 2017, the TTPS is mandated to host these meetings across all districts, but he admits attendance has steadily dwindled over the years, and the reasons remain unclear.
“I’m not sure if it is the communities that are losing trust in the police or maybe just don’t have the interest in coming out anymore. Every time you come to town meetings now, you might see two, three residents, and this is despite a lot of resources being expended on setting up these meetings. As you can see, you realise it is a resource-intensive exercise, and we are not seeing the returns. The residents are simply not coming out.”
He acknowledged that there could be several reasons why residents in certain communities may feel hesitant to attend, though none have been clearly identified.
“Fear could definitely be a factor, but how can you overcome fear if you are not willing to come to the police because this is our job: to at least alleviate the fear of crime, crime reduction, and the fear of crime.”
Acting Inspector Braithwaite said officers attached to the Besson Street Police Station spent the past week trying to encourage members of the immediate community to attend.
“Doing walkabouts in this very community, Charford Court, handing out flyers, speaking to residents and inviting them – and what we need people to understand is these town meetings are not really TTPS town meetings, you know. These are your town meetings. This is your opportunity to speak directly with those responsible for law enforcement in your community, so we urge people to still come out and let their voices be heard.”
He said it is unfortunate that some people, rather than a collective, show greater interest in what happens in their communities.
“We’ve noticed in East Port of Spain we have a lot of segmented communities that don’t really support each other, and they definitely don’t support the police, but we are continuing to try. We are continuing to put our best foot forward because we are here to work with the residents.”
Acting Inspector Braithwaite hinted that future outreach efforts may shift from formal town halls to more neighbourhood-based efforts, meeting residents at their homes or on street corners.