Dr Rita Pemberton

DESPITE Tobago's grim economic outlook, security assumed greater importance even as the island's sugar industry continued its downward slide during the second half of the 19th century, and it was considered essential to make provisions for restructuring and strengthening the police force.

This was done in An Act to Augment the Police Force in January 1854, which built on and expanded the earlier law of 1843.

This was the year when the British government decided to reduce its administration costs in Tobago because the island could not make any significant contributions to the British treasury. The British government was anxious to shift the burden of responsibility for administrative costs onto the island's treasury, which it was ill prepared to bear.

This did not deter the imperial cost-reduction thrust, which was based on a determination to provide support only to profit-generating colonies. This triggered the law of 1854.

In 1854 the British government terminated the security arrangement by which it maintained troops in the barracks at Fort King George as a part of the defensive measures against French designs on Tobago and the activities of pirates and privateers around the island during the second half of the 18th century and the early 19th century.

With the French menace terminated in 1815 and a decline in Tobago's trading activity which led to a decline in the presence of pirates and illegal traders, security needs against external forces were considerably reduced.

However, Tobago's planting community was concerned about internal security threats that were posed by the resisting labour force, which they anticipated would explode into open rebellion, against whom the presence of the imperial troops offered solace.

Much to the discomfort of the Tobago administration, the troops were immediately removed and relocated to Trinidad. The ruling class felt this imperial act inflicted a wound on the island which, they argued, made Tobago vulnerable to both internal and external challenges.

Despite protestations and lamentations, the British government remained unmoved.

The local response was to strengthen internal security arrangements by augmenting the island's police force.

By the 1854 act, the structure and composition of the Tobago police force were enhanced and the basic provisions for its structure implemented. The force was to consist of an inspector general, a superintending sergeant, two sergeants, six corporals and 24 privates. The power of appointment and dismissal from the force was vested in the governor, who was responsible for making all rules on the operations of the police, regulating uniforms, the allocation of arms and the performance of duties. The governor, in consultation with council, could impose additional rules and penalties as he saw fit. It was the intention that the police force should be maintained as a disciplined and military force.

Physical, mental, reputational and other qualifications were determined by the governor. Those sel