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Insp Vekash Ramkissoon at the Police Administration Building, Port of Spain on July 2. - Photo by Faith AyoungAt a time when public trust and confidence in the police is at an all-time low, Inspector Vekash Ramkissoon stands out as one of the shining stars in the service.
This, as he was selected over other senior officers (inspector or above) and then by an international panel of nine specialists in various fields for the Police Innovation and Leadership Programme (PIL) in Dubai recently.
The initiative, headed by the Dubai Police in partnership with Rochester University Institution of Technology targeted 53 senior police officers from 38 countries, including Uganda, Brazil, Kosovo, Tanzania, Serbia, Ethiopia and China, with the potential to be future police leaders. Some countries had more than one participant. TT was offered two spaces but only Ramkissoon qualified.
The programme ran for 18 weeks and taught skills in leadership, innovation and future security sciences, including artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and smart policing.
Insp Vekash Ramkissoon at the Police Administration Building, Port of Spain on July 2. - Photo by Faith Ayoung
Ramkissoon's training coincided with the appointment of Police Commissioner Allister Guevarro on June 17. Guevarro has hit the ground running trying to rebuild trust, confidence and integrity in the service and the public.
The 45-year-old officer, spoke to Newsday on July 2, at Police Administration Building, and shared his insights from the experience. He also highlighted what he learnt that the service could adopt.
Ramkissoon said the selection process was long and rigourous, but well worth it.
"I felt very proud to go through the panel on that international scale and be selected. I was very proud personally, but also to represent my country as an ambassador.
"It was even prouder being there, because through me, they knew about TT."
Ramkissoon said his decision to go Dubai was bitter-sweet.
"It kind of interrupted some personal plans I had. I was supposed to go on vacation with my family and we had planned an international trip. I had to cancel it. I'm also in my final year for my law degree, so the vacation was to help me prepare for my final exams.
"I had to postpone those exams as well because of the opportunity. I made a lot of personal sacrifices to go to Dubai."
Dubai experience eye-opening
Ramkissoon left TT on January 10 and arrived in Dubai two days later. He said he was both humbled and pleasantly surprised by the warm hospitality.
He said his typical day would begin at 5 am – with gym sessions.
"They hired some of the best trainers in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to help us. It was military CrossFit training which used a mixture of bodyweight and weighted exercises."
Insp Vekash Ramkissoon at the graduation ceremony of the Policing Innovation and Leadership programme in Dubai in May. -
The sessions, he said, lasted just over an hour on most days but gradually got longer.
Classes would then begin at 9 am and end at 2 pm. These too also gradually went longer into the night.
Ramkissoon said the programme's academic classes were "intense and compact" but manageable.
"The dissemination was very effective too. We had weekly assessments so when we were finished with the classes, we still had to study and prepare because of the exams.
"The lecturers were also some of the best around the world. The programme made sure to find the best within the relevant topic areas."
Ramkissoon said the academic, physical and tactical training added great value to him and gave an example.
With a somewhat embarrassed expression, he told Newsday that he did not know how to swim at the beginning of the programme – a skill that he has now added to his arsenal.
"That was an eye-opening thing for me because the first question they asked was, 'You live on an island, right?' and when I thought about it, I would say 50 per cent of my generation didn't know how to swim.
"I had no choice but to get into the pool because it's military training. It was a jump in the water and see how far you can get."
Ramkissoon said he was able to reach 10 metres on his first attempt. After a week and a half, he was up to 25 metres.
"This goes to show how Dubai police really try to push you to meet your physical potential.
"It's a cultural thing with the people on this side of the world – the Middle East, Europe. Physicality is very important."
At the end of the 18 weeks, Ramkissoon said he felt well-educated, not only through the various classroom sessions but also through daily interactions.
His physical strength and endurance also improved drastically achieving 44 push-ups in 30 seconds and running three kilometres in sub-22 minutes.
More money, resources will make TTPS best version
Ramkissoon said TT and the Caribbean are not far behind in technology and policing ideas as compared to Dubai – which has smart cities.
Smart cities focus on using technology to improve the quality of life – autonomous transport, self-serviced offices and police stations.
Part of that initiative includes smart police stations, drone patrols, smart police vehicles and robotic patrol units. These are just some of the "futuristic" initiatives Dubai has implemented in its approach to crime-fighting, Ramkissoon said.
He said some of those ideas can be implemented here.
"In TT we have the right ideas, we just need to be a little more sustainable. That's the thing with technology. Even though it's efficient, it is costly. That is the challenge generally in this country."
"The smart police station could be implemented in certain areas. The drones can also be implemented, but it's not as easy as you think. We have drones here but they're not designed for patrolling. At the end of the day, it all boils down to money."
With the increase in fatal police shootings this year (38), Newsday asked about the use of body-worn cameras in Dubai.
Ramkissoon said it was part of a police officer's mandatory tool.
"Here, the implementation of it is a challenge. And it's not just the police service. With people, anything new always gets a little static.
"I think the body-worn camera is a very good thing. I was in charge of the Eastern Division CID and Task Force and all my officers there, I had no challenge with getting them to wear body cameras. The body camera is also to protect the police. It promotes accountability and police legitimacy. There are more positives and negatives for me."
He also noted how the Dubai police were accountable to the people they serve.
"Dubai Police Commander in Chief Abdullah Khalifa Al Marri said, 'We don’t build partnerships, we build relationships and this the is the mindset we want to give to the world.'
"That simple change of words could change a mindset. We generally here think about building partnerships. We don't really build relationships."
He added this goes hand in hand with increasing public trust and confidence.
"Professionalism and knowledge of your job. The people in Dubai love the police. Dubai Police is a brand by itself.
"The main thing is the efficiency of the police. At the end of the day, the police is a state body, executing state powers and as such, we are accountable to the people."
Ramkissoon said the media in Dubai also highlights the good of their police, something local media should try to adopt.
He said going on the course had reinvigorated his love for his job.
He now wants to achieve all he can as an officer before retirement in 2040.
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