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Carlos Corraspe - HOMELAND Security Minister Roger Alexander confirmed that acting Prisons Commissioner Carlos Corraspe has been sent on leave.
However, he says the decision was strategic and not linked to the ongoing state of emergency.
Corraspe went on leave on August 7, during the height of the SoE declared on July 18 – and extended by Parliament on July 28 for a further three months – after police intelligence pointed to inmates at the Maximum Security Prison plotting to kill key official in law enforcement and justice sectors in an attempt to destabilise the country.
Speaking with Newsday on August 8, Alexander said the Government had "chosen" to send Corraspe on leave.
When pressed on this, Alexander said it was a strategic move.
“Everything going forward is really strategic and aligned with the information that we have. So we have chosen to do certain things in order to accomplish certain things. So it's not any vendetta against anybody or anything like that. Mr Corraspe is going on his leave and I hope that he enjoys his leave.”
Alexander: Corraspe is a “
good officer”
Reached for comment, Corraspe said that while he had nothing much to say about it, his leave was not administrative but rather vacation leave.
“I don’t want to go into further particulars, but it is leave in excess of what I am entitled to.”
He asked people to stop speculating on social media about the reason for his being sent on leave.
"As far as I know, I have leave in excess, and I’m on vacation leave because of that.”
Alexander said Corraspe, who was appointed acting commissioner in July 2024, had accrued more than 200 days’ vacation leave. Officers are not allowed to accumulate more than 90 days' leave.
“People will see things and make a whole thing about it,” said Alexander.
“Everything was totally above board,” he added. He said Corraspe was not the only officer made to take their excess vacation leave.
“It was just persons who would have accumulated leave for now.”
He said this situation was not unique to the prison service.
“It’s just about an accumulation of leave and this would have happened even in the police service.”
“Sometimes you would have accumulated a certain amount of leave and it was necessary to go on leave now.”
Alexander joked as he noted the same thing had happened to him.
“You should tick my name off.”
In November 2023, Alexander was among a number of senior officers who were sent on leave after accruing hundreds of days’ worth of leave.
Asked again, though, why he felt it important to send Corraspe on leave in the middle of an SoE that was declared based on a threat in the prison, Alexander reiterated there was no link between the two.
“It has nothing to do too much with the transition that is taking place at the prisons at this time.”
He said changes were being implemented, but added those changes were aimed at addressing the abandonment both prisoners and prison officers felt.
“The authorities before left the prison service, both inmates and prison officers, basically to fend on their own and we want to change that.
“The prisoners must have respect for prison officers. The prison officer must have respect for the prisoners. And that's how we going forward.”
Asked his thoughts on Corraspe’s tenure, Alexander described him as a “good officer,” and said they worked well together.
“I wouldn't go further into that, really, but he's a good officer, career officer.
“As I said before, this had nothing to do with what is happening now. It's about persons going on leave because it has become necessary to treat with the situation that exists.”
Prison Officers’ Association: Corraspe’s leave “standard”
In a statement on August 8, the Prison Officers' Association said Corraspe proceeding on leave was “a standard and necessary process… in accordance with established guidelines.”
It criticised reports Corraspe was sent on any other type of leave.
“We strongly denounce the recent social media headline suggesting that Mr Corraspe has been sent on administrative leave.
“This assertion is both inaccurate and unfair to the Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and to Mr Corraspe himself.”
The association suggested it did not believe Corraspe’s proceeding on leave during the SoE would affect operations.
“The Prison Service, especially at this critical juncture, requires level-headed leadership and focused management.
“We emphasise that such qualities do not reside exclusively in any single individual, but rather in the collective professionalism, dedication, and integrity of the men and women who serve in our nation's prisons every day.”
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