The T&T Police Band has been in existence for about 136 years. It first started around 1897 with eleven members and a band master which soon expanded to 18. Today, the strength of the band stands at 62 members. The band was known as a Military Band with reeds, brass and drums. However, during the 1970's there was a change and electronic instruments were introduced by the first local bandmaster, Mr. Antonio Prospect. This new feature brought much greater attention. The band soon started playing for all the major shows in Trinidad. The band became the most popular orchestra in the land and the leader - Mr. Prospect was idolized in song by the Mighty Sparrow in a calypso called “shake your baton like Mr. Prospect."  Since Mr. Prospect passed away there have been three band masters who have retired and the fourth, Enrique Moore, is presently leading the band.

The Band’s first European tour to Germany was during October to November 2003. This tour brought with it a further change in the structure of the band. For the past five years the Police Band added about five tenor pans in its ranks mainly for show at our Independence Parade held annually on the 31st of August.  However, when the invitation from Germany to take part in the music festivals this year was received, Enrique decided to add a ten piece steel band to the Police Band. Of course, music had to be written for this new addition to the orchestra and personnel had to be found to play these instruments. The players for the steel band came from the Police band itself. Some members were asked to put down their brass instruments and start learning to play the steel pan. It was not an easy task, but they stuck to their task and in two months were ready
for the draft.

The combination of steel and brass was an interesting one. Even, the Musical Director was shocked by the sound of the orchestra.  New music had to be written for this tour of Germany and Enrique did not have a clue what was required of the police band for a tour of this nature. Nevertheless, he decided to take their local music to Germany. Their repertoire was a mixture of foreign and local music. This combination took the people of Europe by storm. All of their performances in Hamburg, Berlin, Neubrandedburg, Neumunster, and Cologne were well received. The tour was a great success and the performers had a great time. Enrique has decided that the national instrument, the steel pan, will now be a regular part of their performances in the future. He is now in the process of acquiring instruments for a 40 piece steel orchestra in the Police Band.