TOBAGO CRIME AND NARCOTICS ISSUES: LAID-BACK

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PORT OF SPAIN 000371 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPT FOR WHA/CAR, INL/LP E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV SNAR KCRM TD SUBJECT: TOBAGO CRIME AND NARCOTICS ISSUES: LAID-BACK ATTITUDE MAY CAUSE PROBLEMS ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: The smaller, resort island of Tobago is relatively safer than the larger Trinidad. Understaffing, short tours of duty and a resort mentality, however, create a potential gap in GOTT counter narcotics efforts in Tobago. INL-funded computers are not being used because officers do not know what resources exist for their use. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (SBU) Tobago is the smaller island of the twin island state of Trinidad and Tobago (T&T). While Trinidad houses T&T's industrial complex and natural gas, Tobago is home to the country's resort complexes and beaches. Tobago is much more laid-back than Trinidad, but the danger is that this resort mentality seems to have seeped into the law enforcement agencies, which can compromise the relative safety of this island. -------------- TOBAGO POLICE CHIEF SANGUINE ABOUT CRIME -------------- ¶3. (U) Political Officer and INL Assistant met with Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) for Tobago, Michael Thomas. On the brink of retirement, ACP Thomas provided a retrospective of changes he saw in the police force during his thirty-some years. He painted a rosy picture of the crime situation on Tobago, in spite of rising crime rates countrywide. He noted an increase in break-ins and petty thefts, some of which have recently affected British tourists, causing the UK to issue a stronger travel advisory about Tobago. Thomas opined that foreigners are too complacent about crime, and that when they go on vacation, even in a paradise like Tobago, they still need to be cautious. Additionally, ACP Thomas noted an upsurge in the number of narcotics "swallowers" who attempt to smuggle narcotics by ingesting containers filled with the substance. ¶4. (SBU) Thomas noted a number of welcome developments in the police force, which included a greater emphasis on technology and training to improve the officers' effectiveness. They enjoy close relations with other law enforcement agencies, and regularly conduct joint patrols with the military to serve as a deterrent on crime through their visible presence. However, he pointed out that the force is hiring at below attrition, and that a number of senior officers are preparing to retire in the next few years due to mandatory retirement ages. Noting that the forces are stretched already, Thomas lamented the difficulty he faced in getting reinforcements to Tobago should anything happen. Tobago is simply not a priority for the police force as a whole given the much larger problems in Trinidad. -------------- -------------- CUSTOMS UNDERSTAFFED FOR EMERGING THREATS, LACKS SOPS -------------- -------------- ¶5. (U) Political Officer, INL Assistant and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Advisor also visited T&T Customs and Excise offices to examine INL-funded computer equipment. Computers were installed in 2003 at Crown Point International Airport, in downtown Scarborough (the capital of Tobago) and in Charlotteville (a yacht port on the northern tip of Tobago) to provide Internet communications among the offices, to establish a link with INTERPOL and to run customs-related software. Customs officers offered ready access to the equipment, and even drove the embassy officers over the narrow, winding roads to Charlotteville. ¶6. (SBU) Customs and Excise posts two preventative officers, who are responsible for screening outgoing passengers and packages, to Tobago for tours of between seven months and one year. One officer noted that there is almost never a transition period, there is no documentation of standard operating procedures and incoming officers have to discover on their own what resources they have available. The INL-funded equipment has been an unfortunate casualty of this relaxed approach by transitioning officers. New officers at each station were unaware of the capabilities of the equipment and, in most cases, did PORT OF SP 00000371 002 OF 002 not know the login for the computer. One worker noted that he had not used the equipment because of the "strong warning" (saved as a message on the computer's wallpaper) that it was for official use only, and he did not want to make a mistake in using it. Further, it seems that the Tobago House of Assembly (the island's semi-autonomous government) provided similar equipment at approximately the same time, raising questions about the need for the INL-funded computers. ¶7. (SBU) Additionally, the customs officers expressed some frustration that there were only two preventative officers to cover the entire island, from Crown Point to Charlotteville. Their primary focus is to prevent narcotics from transiting the airport. However, they are aware of other potential issues, such as currency outflows that could indicate money laundering or other financial crimes that they cannot investigate with their current staffing. Still, the officer praised their close collaboration with the police, who actually make most of the narcotics arrests based on information from the Customs officers. -------------- TOBAGO DESERVES SPECIFIC ATTENTION -------------- ¶8. (SBU) COMMENT: Tobago is likely to increase in importance for counter narcotics issues as traffickers recognize that the island is less guarded than Trinidad. So far, the airport has been the primary narcotics trafficking nexus in Tobago. However, Tobago's coastline and numerous small bays and rocky islands present a tempting hideaway for traffickers. Counter narcotics and law enforcement assistance targeted for Tobago should take the resort mentality and short tours of duty into account to ensure that equipment is appropriate and that employees are fully trained in its use. END COMMENT. AUSTIN