PORT-OF-SPAIN – DWAYNE DOUGLAS GIBBS, the Canadian national likely to be approved by Parliament on Friday to become the country’s next Commissioner of Police, has promised, once he’s given the nod, that he’s going to put his best foot forward and get the job done.Gibbs said Monday he was very excited about the job and was looking forward to bringing his expertise and professionalism to lead the police service.He was speaking to the Express from Canada via cellphone.Gibbs said: “Certainly I would be very excited to be part of the Trinidad and Tobago National Police Service, and to work with the different police members along with the political powers, to look at any improvement within the service, and any improvement throughout the country as far as the crime rate is concerned.“I look at it as a challenge, a new opportunity to again work with people that require more help, in terms of dealing with the [crime] issues that affect their country, and I look forward to the challenge, personally, and the opportunity for Trinidad to leverage any of my skills and knowledge in any way I can help.”Gibbs, 54, is a retired chief superintendent of police at the Edmonton Police Service in Alberta, Canada. When he retired, he was in charge of the Human Resource Division.Fellow Canadian Neal Parker, who is a deputy commissioner of police in Antigua and Barbuda, was rejected for the top cop post last Friday by Parliament, after it was disclosed that he was an assessor during the 2008 selection process.Thorough processGibbs said this was the first time he applied for the job in an independent capacity. “I thought the process was quite thorough with the type of questions, background checks they had,” Gibbs said.Sources have revealed that Gibbs’ résumé was the most impressive among all the applicants for the top cop post. He was second on the Order of Merit list for the post of CoP in the selection process, which was recently submitted by the Justice and Safety Institute of the Pennsylvania State University to the Police Service Commission.He said he was aware of the objections regarding a foreigner leading the Police Service, but noted that the important issue was that everyone had a common goal. (Trinidad Express)
