$80,000 a month in overtime? ‘Corrupt’ overtime system back, Griffith alleges

Former commissioner of police Gary Griffith has accused the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) of returning to a system of overtime payments he described as corrupt, claiming he had reduced the expenditure by more than $100 million annually during his tenure.

In a statement issued last Friday, Griffith said hundreds of officers had previously claimed overtime for working 24 hours a day, 30 days a month, with some earning more than $80,000 monthly despite basic salaries ranging from $10,000 to $15,000.

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He said he had introduced limits on overtime allocations to individual units after identifying what he considered unethical practices, and argued that the savings had helped finance equipment, technology and specialist units without requiring additional funding from the government.