Lamenting that the crime detection rate for the TTPS is below 13%, Police Commissioner Erla Christopher-Harewood says she is confident that new strategies implemented under her watch will reap benefits that could see a marked change in crime levels by June, with long-term improvements by December.

Ms. Christopher-Harewood made the comment during her first appearance as Top Cop before a Joint Select Committee of Parliament this afternoon.

She says her Executive will place greater focus on forensics, DNA technology and ballistics.

Asked to state what are the challenges she faces since officially being appointed to the job, Police Commissioner Erla Christopher-Harewood told a Joint Select Committee of Parliament this afternoon that she would not address such. Instead, she said she was confident that the aforementioned strategies could yield a turnaround in the levels of crime and criminality.

At the start of Monday’s proceedings, Mrs. Christopher-Harewood was asked how she felt having been appointed Trinidad and Tobago’s first female Police Commissioner. 

The Top Cop said she is honored and humbled to serve in the position, thanking both government and Opposition for supporting her appointment in the Parliament.