Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Mc Donald Jacob has assured plans are being put in place to ensure the December 6 Tobago House of Assembly (THA) election runs smoothly in the midst of the covid19 pandemic.

He said so on Thursday during a brief news conference at the Shirvan Police Station, Tobago.

Jacob and other executive members of the Trinidad & Tobago Police Service, including DCPs Joanne Archie (Administration), Pamela Hinds (Investigations & Intelligence) and Erla Christopher (Operations), visited several stations on the island to get a first-hand account of the issues affecting officers. They also discussed plans for policing during the upcoming election and into the Christmas season.

The police executive team were also expected to meet with THA representatives and the leaders of the political parties contesting the upcoming election.

With the THA election campaign already in full swing there have been concerns about supporters of the various political parties breaching public health regulations during walkabouts and other events.

But Jacob said head of the Tobago Division, Assistant Commissioner of Police William Nurse and other senior officers have been doing a lot of work planning and organising for the election.

“Remember, this is not our first election. Just earlier this year (January 25) we had an election in Tobago and we just came out of national elections. So, they already have a template that worked well and I believe on this occasion we will be using that same template even though there are some extra seats to deal,” he told reporters.

“It will be the same approach but we will be adding all of the necessaries by linking with the Elections and Boundaries Commission, the Tobago house of Assembly and the other parties to ensure that we can, in fact, have a safe election campaign.”

On policing strategies for the upcoming THA election and Christmas season, Jacob said, “Tobago is faced with the situation that at the end of the month, the SoE will be lifted. Right after we have to engage an election and we don’t know whether a decision will be made to open up the beaches. That would be some other issues that we need to deal with. So, we want to plan ahead and that is the reason why we are here.”