PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC -Police Commissioner Erla Harewood-Christophe has been granted a one-year extension as head of the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS), a statement from the Office of the Prime Minister said on Monday night.
The brief statement said that the extension became effective from May 15, the date on which she was initially scheduled to leave office.
According to the statement, Cabinet on May 7 had advised President Christine Kangaloo that under Section 75(a) of the Police Service Act, to extend the tenure of Harewood-Christopher as commissioner for one year from May 15.
Last week, the Court of Appeal Wednesday dismissed an appeal filed by an opposition activist challenging the government’s move to extend the term of Harewood-Christopher by a year before she attained retirement age last year.
Her appointment led to a legal battle after she reached the retirement age 60 on May 15, 2023, and the Cabinet extended her term by a year.
In an oral judgment, Justices Prakash Moosai, Mark Mohammed, and James Aboud rejected Ravi Balgobin Maharaj’s appeal after High Court Judge Ricky Rahim dismissed his case in January.
In the lawsuit, Maharaj challenged the Cabinet’s decision to extend Harewood-Christopher’s term by a year under Section 75 of the Police Service Act before she reached retirement age on May 15, last year.
The legislation empowers the President to extend the term of a first division officer due to retire if it is in the national interest. Police officers can receive two further one-year extensions based on annual performance reviews.
Former attorney general Anand Ramlogan, who headed Maharaj’s legal team, had argued that the provision is inconsistent with Section 123 of the Constitution, which gives the Police Service Commission the power to recommend the appointment or removal of the Police Commissioner and Deputy Commissioners of Police (DCPs) to be approved by the House of Representatives.
They argued that the constitutional process sought to ensure no political interference.
In response to the case, lawyers representing the Cabinet relied on an affidavit from Director of Personnel Administration Corey Harrison, who also serves as secretary for the Police Service Commission, in which he noted that the Commission was aware of Harewood-Christopher’s age and the possibility of her receiving an extension when she was first appointed in February, last year, after acting in the post previously.
He also pointed out that similar extensions were afforded to former police commissioners James Philbert and McDonald Jacob.
Harewood-Christopher, the first woman to hold the top post within the TTPS, has come under criticism from the opposition United National Congress (UNC) over the crime situation here, with the murder toll being just over 200 so far this year.
Commissioner Christopher has also drawn attention to her faith as a source of strength in these trying times, publicly declaring that divine intervention can help stem the tide of violence.
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