And - as you heard - the man at the helm of all operations is newly promoted Deputy Commissioner Chester Williams. He's in charge of operations and is the now effectively second in command of the department. We asked him what his approach will be:
Jules Vasquez, reporter
"What I hear today is what we would call "mani duro," emergency areas which will suspend your liberties under the constitution in some of the poorest neighborhoods in the country. But I know you are known for "mano suave" the soft hand. What will be your efforts to mediate?"
Chester Williams, Deputy Commissioner of Police
"I am sure that you will agree with me that it was not just a "mano duro" approached as I discussed. The Prime Minister made it emphatically clear that he also believes that the police do need to strike a balance in terms of their enforcement."
"Now, if we want to succeed in achieving [a reduction in] crime, one of our greatest challenges is the fact for some reason or the other, the public have lost trust and confidence in us. And for us to be able to move forward, we must work in gaining back the public's trust and confidence and that is one of my number one priority. Once we gain the public's trust and confidence, then we will arrive at a situation where the public will feel free, feel confident in working with us, in giving us information. And that will then assist us in having the public joining forces with us, to flush out those persons who want to create havoc within their communities."
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