A quiet internal investigation by Commissioner of Police Gary Griffith has uncovered a massive $25 million per month overtime bill within the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS).
The figure is three million more than the $22 million a month overtime bill Government officials recently claimed the state owned Petrotrin oil refinery racks up.
In response to questions on the issue from the T&T Guardian yesterday, Griffith said he was “cracking down on white collar crime within the TTPS” as he highlighted “inflated overtime figures” as one of the white collar crimes currently taking place within the service.
He said some officers have been taking home hundreds and thousands of dollars in overtime.
He said because there were never the proper checks and balances in place, people found ways to take advantage of the system.
One of the other matters Griffith is shutting down immediately is payment to officers to influence Firearm Users Licenses.
He said applicants pay police officers between $20,000 and $80,000 for the licenses or to have their application brought to the top of the pile. But he noted only the Commissioner of Police can grant and authorise Firearm Users Licenses.
