Former Acting Commissioner of Police James Philbert (Retired)

With all this talk as to why Mr. James Philbert was fired, my own belief that we are a nation of imitators and followers is being proven each additional day this issue continues to hog headlines. One commentary says:

Whatever Mr Philbert's failures in his stint as police chief; he cannot be accused of conducting himself unprofessionally.

The commentator in his own words has acknowledged “Mr. Philbert’s failures…” but his professionalism is sound. So, based on this are we to conclude that once you perform professionally but fail in performance you ought not be fired? As likeable, approachable and media–friendly a CoP is, he’s being paid by the state to perform his duties effectively and deliver positive results. Under Mr. Philbert’s watch the bad has significantly outweighed the good. The simple fact is that given Mr. Philbert’s seniority in the TTPS (and he is the most senior) his competencies are not in line with the escalating demands of the office of CoP. This in itself justifies this administration’s and the previous one’s decision to expand its search for someone who has the capacity and experience to deal with this virtually impossible situation.

CHAIRMAN of the Police Service Commission (PSC) Nizam Mohammed says there were more issues which led to the PSC's decision to terminate the contract of former acting commissioner of police James Philbert last week. However, he said the other issues were private and confidential and could not be discussed. Granted that these issues are private and confidential the speculative atmosphere that has developed only exacerbated the situation. Since the announcement it has been suggested that:

1.      Outstanding leave was the cause.

2.      Smooth transitioning.

3.      Political interference.

4.      Performance issues.

5.      Anand Ramlogan.

The one that I could agree with is performance, and if his failure as CoP is the issue a public dressing down of the man would have been an undeserved embarrassment. In that case I would agree that it is indeed private and confidential but should have nevertheless been shared with Mr. Philbert. Added to that, his final extension was badly considered and Mr. Williams should have been there since then. Now, if the PSC had come out and say that they dismissed him for lack of performance and failure these same idiots now crying persecution would have proffered the same inane arguments against making these things public.

.PRESIDENT of the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service and Social Welfare Association Sgt Anand Ramesar yesterday described a meeting with Acting Commissioner of Police Stephen Williams as very promising.

He said the meeting was one of the best his executive has had with the executive of the Police Service since coming into office, and it was given the undertaking some of its issues and concerns would be addressed within the next two weeks.

Ramesar said his executive was able to air many pressing issues, including promotions from the rank of corporal to sergeant and sergeant to inspector, which were due since 2008; the deployment of personnel from the Community Crime and Prevention Unit; and the inaction that previously existed with respect to administrative orders.

"Those promotions were not previously addressed, and we sought to bring those on the table as being urgent and immediate, and we got that assurance that they are going to be dealt with," Ramesar said in a telephone interview.

“I think it’s a right decision having regard to the concerns of the membership because a lot of persons who have pending issues are also nearing the end of their period of service and there is a need to urgently address these issues. There was no indication that Mr Philbert had any intentions of treating positively with those issues whilst in office. Having regard to the opportunity to work with Mr Williams when he acted as Commissioner of Police in July we have every reason to believe that the interest of the membership will receive adequate attention and justifiable treatment from the office of the Commissioner of Police. I wish Mr Philbert a pleasant retirement and that he enjoys all the fruits of his labour and family life in the life after service.” 

For some time now Sgt. Ramesar et al have been at odds with Mr. Philbert and his delinquency with dealing with outstanding promotions in the TTPS. Again, part of the CoP’s portfolio involves this very important duty and if he refused to address it then it amounts to nothing less than a dereliction of duty and consequently justifies dismissal. Little public attention has been taken of the Welfare Associations concerns and added to the runaway nature of crime this CoP’s tenure has little to show. Whilst his 40 odd years of commendable service can’t be overlooked nor discounted we as a Republic must understand and realize that this task was too much for Mr. Philbert. His loyalty and dedication is admirable but we can’t approach this problem emotionally and wholeheartedly embrace mediocrity. This is why this lowering of standards for the sake of sentimentality, coddling of failed ideologies and insistence on fueling populist rants starves the Republic of positive growth. When conventional media and their agents abuse their considerable public influence to stoke these divisive fires, (all for the sake of selling copy) it’s easy to see that as a society we are easily swayed by stupidity dressed up as news. When commentators use the language of justifiability to self-aggrandize and also to sell copy, we’ve allowed our minds to be colonized by empty hypotheses and profiteering propagandists.

I have little doubt that after evaluating the performance of Mr. Philbert as CoP objectively and honestly only one inference could be drawn. Even if the government wanted to rid itself of Mr. Philbert 15 days before his contract would have expired for whatever political reason, his own performance (or lack thereof) would have been enough to supersede any political interference. Anyone who can’t see this has not been paying attention. The PSC’s handling of the situation points to poor communication both in regards to Mr. Philbert and the public. A press conference or release would have been more appropriate coupled with public commendation for Mr. Philbert’s years of dedication and service to the Republic. It is however, clear that whatever precipitated the decision was uncomfortable in the least and the poor responses opened the way for all the sensational speculation.