IT’S SO GRUESOME

AT 91, former assistant superintendent of police (ASP) Merle Bertrand has seen Trinidad and Tobago’s Police Service transform from a male-dominated institution where women had to prove they belonged, to one where women now occupy senior positions.

Bertrand is one of the remaining women of Batch 5,000. She was among the first 12 women recruited into what was then the Trinidad and Tobago Police Force in 1955. The TTPS records 1955 as the year policewomen were officially introduced, initially to deal with juvenile and female-related matters.

A recent image of former assistant superintendent of police Merle Bertrand.