Margaret Sampson-Browne has stepped down as head of the T&T Police Service’s Victim and Witness Support Unit.
Sampson-Browne, who is currently on vacation, has signalled her intention not to return as manager of the unit.
Over the past five years, Sampson-Browne has become the face of the TTPS’ Victim and Witness Support Unit and her decision to leave has now sparked fears about the future of the unit.
The Sunday Guardian contacted Sampson-Browne on the situation.
“I am on vacation and my vacation is ending in the middle of August and I am enjoying my vacation,” Sampson-Browne said.
Asked whether she will be returning to her post as manager of the TTPS’ Victim and Witness Support Unit following her vacation, Sampson-Browne said “No, I will not be.
“I am just weighing my options. I am just enjoying whatever vacation I have after 46 years, and I am weighing my options as to what I want to do and how I want to do it,” she said.
Sampson-Browne was appointed the manager of the TTPS Victim and Witness Support Unit in June 2011.
Before being appointed to the post she served more than 40 years in the TTPS and rose to the rank of assistant police commissioner.
She has a Bachelor of Science degree (honours) in Social Work and a Master of Philosophy in Gender Studies from the University of the West Indies.
These achievements made Sampson-Browne the “ideal candidate” for the role of the unit’s manager.
The Sunday Guardian attempted unsuccessfully to contact acting Police Commissioner Stephen Williams for a comment on the situation.
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The TTPS Victim and Witness Support Unit was established in 2008, and over the past few years the demand for its services has been rapidly growing.
The unit was established as a space where victims and witnesses could express their feelings confidentially following the trauma experienced from crime.
Its primary objectives are:
1. To educate clients and other stakeholders with the intention of minimising the risks of secondary victimisation.
2. To collaborate with other agencies with the aim of enhancing the unit’s policies and programmes.
3. To develop a network system to harmonise governmental and non-governmental initiatives which promote victim and witness support.
4. To assist in promoting respect for the human dignity of victims through their interaction with all elements of the Police Service and by extension the criminal justice system.
A Victim and Witness Support Unit is located in all nine divisions of the Police Service and at selected police stations throughout the country, including Sangre Grande, Arouca, Morvant, Carenage, Chaguanas, San Fernando, Anti-Kidnapping & Homicide, Penal and Tobago.
The unit is said to assist over 2,000 victims a year.