by Vernon Khelawan

Every week when you think Trinidad and Tobago can sink no lower up comes something to make things worse and so good citizens keep losing hope.

Recently, the Professional Standards Bureau (PSB) of the police service was instrumental in bringing to court a matter involving three senior policewomen following an investigation into an accident involving a police car in which they were travelling.

Two of them, an acting assistant senior superintendent and a sergeant were jointly charged with perverting the course of justice while a corporal was charged with taking no action knowing that a criminal offence was being committed. It seemed to be a simple matter, which they turned into a bigger incident. But the fact remains that these policewomen are being paid to uphold the law. In the end, it is a matter of trust.

Kudos goes to the constable who allegedly refused to take a false report at the station. That police officer did the right thing.

In these days where money and position in society seem to count for a lot, it is not difficult to buy one’s way out of any tenuous situation. The lure of money can transform people from good to bad.

It is no secret that there are rogue officers in the service, but to get such officers out of the department is a long and complicated process. The rogue officers give the police service a bad name and, unfortunately, this state of affairs is nothing new.

Every evening on the ‘Beyond the Tape’ television show, viewers tell their stories of various problems they experience at the hands of police officers in many stations all over the country; and this, while the programme tries its utmost to develop a better partnership between the police and the public.

These stories speak of an unbridled individualism in our society. We have become a very selfish nation.

At every Mass in the country, whether weekend or weekday, we Catholics pray for our leaders, but prayers alone won’t cut it; there’s much more to be done. Here is where the role of exemplary marriages and proper parenting must play its part. The Family Life Commission, other religions and the television stations are alive with programmes aimed at inculcating the principles of proper parenting.

There is a connection between parenting and the crime scourge and we have lost several generations of our children; some parents don’t teach them manners, respect, kindness, charity and morality. Let us pledge to do better so they don’t end up like the trio of policewomen, choosing to do wrong instead of what is right.

I want to extend congratulations to my lovely wife Joan for putting up with me for the last 52 years in a marriage that has not been without its ups and downs. Blessings on our union and we hope to see a few more.