Former Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Tobago William Nurse is calling for a modified approach to crime fighting on the island.

Speaking with Newsday on Wednesday, Nurse said new tactics were necessary, noting that the island’s current ACP needed to stop grand charging and get down to some serious work.

He said: “Every police officer who gets up and speaks, the criminals did their background check on you already. They know who you are.

"So when you talk, if you can’t match those words with actions, it's better you shut up.

"So, you have to match the words with actions. Shut up, because you are not going to make sense. They’re going to laugh at you.”

He added, “Tobago is very easy to police. It’s a small-island state. And if we do the basic policing, infuse intelligence into it – good information, with robust investigation – we are on our way to solving all the problems Tobago might have.”

At the time this article was written, the murder toll for the island stood at 13, with the last three homicides taking place within a 24-hour period one week ago.

On December 19, Tobago recorded its 11th murder while a day later on December 20, two more people were shot dead while liming outside a bar in Bon Accord.

Of those 13 murders, 12 were committed with firearms.

Questioned about a motive regarding Tobago’s 12th and 13th murder, the island's current ACP Collis Hazel told Newsday, “They are all gang related. They were known persons to the police as being involved in gangs. Gangs are fighting for turf and for money and drugs.”

During his tenure as ACP Tobago in 2022, Nurse listed gang violence as one of his biggest challenges saying that there were 20 gangs spread across the island.

“Well, there are gangs and anybody who says there are no gangs in Tobago, they are living in a fool’s paradise.

"Tobago has gangs. And when I was active, I knew where the gangs were.

"What the police needs to do is to infiltrate the gangs and beat them at their own game that is where intelligence comes in.”

Nurse said the current policing approach needed to evolve.

“Policing is the foundation. What you do, you add new facets to it, modify it. Add intelligence to their policing, they must add robust investigation, they must add education. All these things the police need to add.

"You will see, Tobago is not very hard if they do these things. I give them six months to do the right thing to get Tobago back.”

Policing, Nurse said, had lost its touch, with officers now more focused on rank rather than improving the foundational aspects of policing. He is urging the senior authorities to focus on developing their subordinates’ skills and knowledge.

“What I am uncertain of, is if those who are in charge are doing enough. I make no apology for that. The seniors need to not focus on their rank but they need to focus on those whom they supervise to bring them up in terms of knowledge, skills and that is where we are falling down. We focus too much on rank and not really the future. Investigation is a dying art and