Lead Editor-Politics
Attorney Keron Ramkhalwhan is calling for an independent audit into the management of overtime within the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS), following revelations that nearly $800 million was paid to police officers in just two years and eight months.
Ramkhalwhan, who filed a Freedom of Information (FOI) application on behalf of citizen Vishal Persad to get the information, says the growing expenditure raises serious questions about staffing, accountability and the management of police resources.
“Overtime is meant to be the exception, not the rule,” Ramkhalwhan said yesterday.
“Yet, figures disclosed under a Freedom of Information request show close to $800 million in overtime payments in the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service, and under the present Commissioner, Allister Guevarro, the bill appears to be climbing, not falling.”
Official figures released by the TTPS show that $793,893,264.65 was paid in overtime between January 2024 and August 2026.
The annual bill increased from $233.87 million in 2024 to $276.84 million in 2025, while payments for the first eight months of 2026 had already reached $283.19 million.
Ramkhalwhan questioned whether the rising expenditure reflected deeper management and staffing challenges within the organisation.
“A commissioner is measured not by the hours his officers are made to work, but by how well his divisions are staffed,” he said.
“When the exception becomes the routine, it is the management, not the clock, that must answer.”
The attorney said his client was now seeking independent scrutiny of how overtime was being authorised, managed and paid.
“My client, Vishal Persad, is therefore calling upon the Police Service Commission and/or the Government of Trinidad and Tobago to cause an independent audit to be conducted into the operation of overtime in the TTPS.”
He added, “The public has paid the bill; the public deserves the answers.”
