POLICE BUDGET TRIPLESTTPS allotment jumps from $70M to $230M as they prepare to roll out new Special Ops plans

Lead Editor-Politics

At the dawn of special operations in designated divisions and the Government’s promise of harder policing, development funding for the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service is set to more than triple to $230.5 million, with substantial boosts for specialist units, stations, vehicles and equipment.

The information is detailed in the Draft Estimates of Recurrent Expenditure, Draft Estimates of Development Programme and Public Sector Investment Plan (PSIP), which were presented following the Budget debate in Parliament on Monday, where Finance Minister Davendranath Tancoo detailed $63.368B fiscal package.

The draft estimates provide $186.1 million through the Consolidated Fund and another $44.4 million through the Infrastructure Development Fund. Together, that represents an increase of approximately $159.7 million, or 225 per cent, over the combined revised 2026 provision of $70.9 million.

The total is also approximately $56.2 million, or 32 per cent, higher than the combined $174.3 million originally allocated for 2026.

Some of the largest increases go to specialised policing units.

The Special Operations/Counter Home and Business Invasion Task Force receives $12 million, compared with a revised $825,000 in 2026. The provision for establishing a Coastal and Riverine Patrol Unit rises from $914,000 to $10 million, while upgrades to the Air Support/Drone Unit receive $5 million, up from $1.6 million.

A separate Special Anti-Crime Operation Unit is allocated approximately $4.95 million, compared with $1.05 million.

Funding for police vehicles under the development programme increases from approximately $9.7 million to $20 million.

Police Academy development works receive $7 million, up from $2.5 million, while training and development for officers rises from $1.75 million to $4.8 million.

The Police Service’s computer system is allocated $14 million, compared with approximately $8.5 million.

Stations and body-worn cameras

Improvement works to police stations and buildings receive $26 million, up from a revised $4 million, with a separate $3.5 million provision for improvement works in Tobago.

Through the Infrastructure Development Fund, construction of the Las Lomas Police Station receives $1.5 million, while development works at Ste Madeleine Police Station are allocated $5 million.

Other provisions include $5.3 million for a canine facility in Caroni, $3.8 million for upgrading the Police Hospital and $4.2 million for detention-cell upgrades.

The development allocation for equipment rises from $18.5 million to $20 million. A separate recurrent provision for other minor equipment in Trinidad increases from $12 million to $20 million.

The equipment funding includes money for body-worn cameras, although the estimates do not separately identify the amount earmarked for their purchase or the number to be acquired.

Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has said cameras must be worn during special operations. However, the Special Operations Act does not make their use explicitly mandatory, providing for their use only “where practicable.”

Only on Tuesday, at the launch of the recently constructed Signal Hill Police Post in Tobago, Persad-Bissessar praised Police Commissioner Allister Guevarro as the “best Commissioner I have ever worked with.”

Criminologist: Public must know what will be delivered

The proposed investment comes as criminologist Dr Malisa Neptune-Figaro calls for clear, publicly accessible targets showing what citizens should receive in return, warning that implementation will determine whether the additional resources improve public safety.

Neptune-Figaro described the proposed increases as a significant investment in policing capacity, addressing operational needs through facilities, vehicles, technology and training.

However, she said funding was only the starting point.

“The real test will be how effectively these resources are used and whether or not they translate into more timely responses, stronger investigations and improvements in the overall public safety of citizens,” she said.

Implementation, she stressed, must be supported by clear targets and publicly accessible strategic frameworks explaining how the investments contribute to the wider crime-reduction strategy.

“The public should be able to understand what will be delivered,” she said.

That should include how vehicles will be acquired, where they will be deployed, which facilities will be improved and when projects are expected to be completed, Neptune-Figaro pointed out.

While the estimates identify allocations, she said more detail was needed to assess the intended outputs and outcomes.

Neptune-Figaro also called for explanations of why previous allocations were revised downwards, which projects were completed and whether outstanding work was being carried forward.

She cautioned that reductions did not automatically indicate poor performance.

Prevention and public trust, she added, should be integrated into the investment, including meaningful programmes and sustained police engagement with communities.

Questions were sent to Guevarro seeking measurable targets for crime detection, response times and public safety, and a timetable for delivering improvements.

He was also asked how specialist units would expand their operations, how many officers would receive body-worn cameras and which stations would benefit from the increased building allocation.

The Commissioner, however, did not respond before press time.

Police Budget: The Increases

Revised 2026 v Budget 2027

Allocation/Project Revised 2026 2027 Increase

Total Development Funding $70.9M $230.5M $159.7M

Consolidated Fund $60.9M $186.1M $125.2M

Infrastructure Development Fund $10M $44.4M $34.4M

Coastal & Riverine Patrol Unit $914,000 $10M $9.086M

Home & Business Invasion Task Force $825,000 $12M $11.175M

Air Support/Drone Unit Upgrades $1.6M $5M $3.4M

Station & Building Improvements $4M $26M $22M

Station & Building Improvements – Tobago – $3.5M $3.5M