Eighty First Division Officers of the TTPS have received training through the Gang
Reduction and Community Empowerment (GRACE) Program. According to a statement from the Service, GRACE was developed by the Pan-American Development Foundation in collaboration with the TTPS, and is being rolled out in 12 challenged communities across Trinidad and Tobago.

Take a look at the full statement below:

A combination of crime prevention, intervention, and suppression strategies One strategies, seeking out the root causes of crime and identify the risk factors which lead to criminal activities are among some of the objectives of the newest crime fighting initiative, the Gang Reduction and Community Empowerment (GRACE) Program.

GRACE was developed by the Pan-American Development Foundation (PADF) in collaboration with the TTPS, and is being rolled out in 12 challenged communities across Trinidad and Tobago. GRACE is funded through another strategic collaboration with the United States’ Department of State Bureau of International Development and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL).

Sensitization and capacity-building training for 80 First Division Officers (FDO) of the TTPS who will lead the programme in the identified communities began at the Police Academy on Wednesday 7th September, 2022.

Speaking at the launch, PADF Crime and Violence Prevention Expert, Yolande De Leon, underscored that the program focuses on gang suppression through strengthened intelligence-led investigations and social interventions to reduce the conditions which result in the proliferation of gangs.
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She said the GRACE model will see multidisciplinary teams, along with community outreach, directly intervene with youth and young adults most likely to be involved in crime and violent gang-related activity. This would involve formalising a collaborative framework whereby the Police, community partners and other stakeholders that can access much needed resources provided by government ministries and other entities.

Delivering the feature address Acting Commissioner of Police Mc Donald Jacob, acknowledged the impact of gang violence that directly fuels the fear of violent crime in the country. He stated that 70 percent of the 1,060 persons were arrested and charged with firearm related offences were between the ages of 16 and 35.

He deemed community-oriented policing as “the ‘soft’ but ‘ideal’ approach’ since this strategy has the potential to influence and change negative attitudes into positive values and productive lives”. Ms De Leon added that it is a strategic approach as it actively engages partners in shared problem-solving that seeks to develop and deploy a holistic engagement that has been proven to reduce and prevent criminal activity. CoP (Ag.) Jacob said he was confident that the project, when fully rolled out, will help restore public faith, trust and confidence in the TTPS.

Meanwhile, Deputy Chief of Missions, United States Embassy, Megan Kelly, said the buy-in, commitment, expertise, feedback and input of all stakeholders are required to make Project GRACE a success and she urged the officers to make the most of the training being offered for the benefit of the citizens of the country.

Project GRACE involves extensive training of Police Officers to help change their mindset from a ‘warrior mentality’ of policing to that of ‘servant guardian’ of every community in Trinidad and Tobago.