DSP Manderson urges Old Harbour promoters to apply early for permit, warns against bribery

“I just want to make it clear that I’m not here to stop your events,” he told promoters during his opening monologue. “The security force must be able to act in the best interest of the public even when the public doesn’t want you to act in their best interest.”

“So if your application says 50 people expected and when 10 o’clock or 11 o’clock come we see 200, 300 people there, it would reach a point where we are not able to police using regular patrol that,” he reasoned. “So it is in your best interest that if we can’t get reinforcement to manage it to go to the promoter and say look here ‘you have a permit, yes, but you have to turn this off now before it get further out of control because we can’t manage that’.”

Since assuming his new position, DSP Manderson, who is a senior member of the National Intelligence Bureau (NIB), noted several applications requesting permit to host events that falls outside of the prescribe timeframe for submission.

“The law stipulates that an application should be made outside of 10 clear days, not including the day of the application or the day of the event,” the 36-year-old crime fighter explained to promoters.

“And here is why the law says that… it must give time for the police to do the due diligence, meaning that the police can go to your place, check if you have bathroom, arrangement is made re garbage and in some places you might have to install a JPS meter to get electricity. We speak to neighbours to find out what are their thoughts.”

As one of the fastest growing towns in the English-speaking Caribbean, Old Harbour is also famous for staging entertainment events. Unsurprisingly daily request are made to the police seeking permission to host these events, whether secular or of a religious kind.

However, irrespective of the event, there will be strict adherence to the rule to allow officers to effect proper policing strategies accordingly, said Manderson.

“Our standard as I said to you is 24 hours, maximum 48 hours an application stay with us,” he said before warning “following this meeting I will not be approving not a wake, not a setup, not a nine night, not a memorial, not a round robin, not a stage show, not a bashment;  nothing, if they are submitted late. Whether it’s a police, or lawyer or thief I don’t care. And I am dead serious.
“The Act says once there is a public gathering it need approval. In fact once there is loud noise, meaning amplified sound, you need a permit.”

And he made it clear that the same rule apply to promoters of other events such as Church crusades and gospel concerts outside its normal place of worship.

Promoters were also warned not to bribe officers or deceive the force with their application. He said it is a known practice of promoters to indicate their intention to host a round-robin when the real event is a pool party.

Event organisers at the meeting admitted that the practice of police demanding money in order to keep their party going for a few more hours is indeed true. But it’s a fact that DSP Manderson is hell bent on changing to make the police force “a force for good”.

“Anybody who try bribe me or my police mi gonna lock them up and also lock up the police them too. If any police come to your round robin and tell you say the ‘Soup (superintendent of police) se fi sen on my own’, mi a beg you fi just get the badge number or the license plate number. In fact once mi get the license plate number mi good with that.

“If you want to do something for the police do something that will benefit you and the community. Trump up some money and buy a vehicle and donate it to the police.

“We are not against you having your events. All we are saying is to do so within the confines of the law and according to the stipulations.

“Whatever intention you have, go through the proper channel. The worst that can happen is for us to say no,” he said.