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Acting Police Commissioner Mc Donald Jacob at Tuesday’s press conference at the Police Administration Building, Port of Spain. – JEFF K MAYERS
Prepare for more roadblocks, detentions and other searches and concerns as police roll out a range of measures to bring back criminals who have unleashed a spate of violent crimes targeting people in public areas.
Acting Police Commissioner McDonald Jacob said Tuesday that an increase in violent crime, including murders, shootings and injuries, is a result of gang rivalry. He said police intend to flood hotspots with more patrols to restore order.
At a press conference at the Police Administration Building in Port of Spain, Jacob said 60 more police officers have been called into duty and all permits have been canceled to get “more boots on the ground.”
But he also complained that the police service was hampered by not having enough vehicles and pleaded with suppliers to honor agreements to equip the vehicles with sirens, rotating lights and other accessories.
He said 43 of the 70 SUVs delivered recently had only half of the blue rotating lights flashing. He said he also intended to direct more officers to wear the traditional gray and blue uniforms, as there are more reports of people wearing tactical uniforms that resemble police uniforms.
“The executive of the police service is very concerned about the growth and increase (of violent crime) we are having in the country,” he said, noting a new trend of gang members hitting their enemies in public places like night clubs and sports facilities.
Jacob said specialist tactical units from the Inter-Agency Task Force, the Guard and Emergency Branch and personnel from the Defense Force had been assigned to increase patrols in high-crime areas and “areas of particular concern”.
He identified five police divisions where police manpower has doubled – West, Port of Spain, North East, Central and South – as statistics show a higher frequency of homicides and gang-related activity.
He pleaded with the public to be patient as the police increase their activities in those areas “while we face this challenging situation in the country.
“We’re actually going to deal with the scourge that’s going on,” he said, vowing to arrest more criminals and bring them to justice and seize more illegal weapons pouring in through legal ports of entry.
Jacob said 408 illegal guns were seized for the year and 1,030 people were charged with gun-related offences. In comparison, he said 61 high-powered weapons were seized in 2021, and police have already confiscated 60 such weapons in less than eight months of this year. He said that in 21 shooting incidents this year, with strong weapons, 55 people were killed and 18 were injured.
“This is creating serious problems for us police and the public.”
In some cases, he said, innocent people have been shot and sometimes killed.
Jacob said the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) recently reinstated an office in TT and is working with local authorities to stem the flow of illegal guns entering legitimate ports. He referred to several seizures over the past two years where caches of assault rifles, pistols, ammunition and firearms components have been seized at local courier bonds in Piarco and Freeport. No one has been arrested in these cases as investigations are still ongoing.
He said the ATF is helping to trace the origin of the weapons and evidence points to several US cities, including Miami, Georgia, Baltimore and Texas. As part of the cooperative approach, he said a multi-border defense agency has been formed under the Ministry of National Security to gather intelligence and evidence with international agencies on arms trafficking.
Jacob said that while the police would be ruthless in their “tough approach” to criminals, they were also pursuing a “soft approach” with various programs designed to prevent young people from being influenced by criminal gangs.
To emphasize his point, he said that last year 210 people aged 16-34 were killed, while this year 165 people in the same age group were killed. A total of 55 people in that category were charged with murder last year and 36 this year.
“We are more than losing a generation,” he said, as he reiterated his call for more organizations and individuals to join the fight to save young people from being swallowed up in the cycle of gang culture and violence.
Jacob said the police cannot do it alone and appreciated the various government ministries, non-governmental organizations, faith-based organizations and other people who have come forward to help.
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He said the establishment of 131 police youth clubs had made significant progress in keeping young people away from a life of crime and was encouraged by the results.
“We have to operate on both sides…prevention is better than cure…we have to deal with the root causes of crime.”
Jacob singled out the Ascension Football League in La Horquetta for helping to bring a sense of pride to what was once a notorious crime hotspot and another football league in Moruga/St Mary’s. Similarly, he said, a T-20 cricket competition in Princes Town also had a positive effect.
“My soul is telling me to say this, crime is everybody’s business… I’m asking people to get on board.”
He pleaded with fathers to play a bigger role in their children’s lives and also pay maintenance fees to support single mothers.
Without that financial support, he said, it was “creating an avenue for gang leaders to play a role in your child’s life when they can’t get basic needs in their homes.”
Jacob called on employers to urge fathers on their payroll who are not fulfilling their responsibilities to “look after your children” so they don’t end up being part of the crime problem in society.
He said that although some tools such as the denial of bail for certain violent offenses expired on August 4 and now people accused of murder were getting bail, the police intended to do everything they could to “turn the (criminal) situation around ) in TT. .”
Acting Deputy Commissioner Wendell Williams, who is responsible for intelligence and investigations, said 90 people have been charged with gang-related offenses between 2018-2022. He said there were 123 criminal gangs in operations and almost all communities were affected by them.
He said the scale of the violence could have been worse if the police had not targeted some people and stopped more bloodshed and loss of life. Williams said police also intend to target dark-colored vehicles, which criminals use to commit crimes, even though the law governing color has yet to be enforced.
