PM Rowley announces new crime plan for Tobago day after quadruple murder

Trinidad and Tobago: Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley has announced a new crime plan for Tobago, which includes the deployment of more police officers from Trinidad on a rotation basis. This comes a day after the island registered its first quadruple murder.

Dr Rowley said that with Tobago recording 16 killings so far this year, he is displeased at the unprecedented escalation of serious crime. Speaking during a press conference yesterday, he further noted, “I am not happy at all, and it diminishes me, and I think it diminishes all of Tobago.”

Fed up with escalating crime on the island he grew up on, Dr Rowley planned to host the National Security Council in Tobago to discuss a plan to fight back timely, since on the eve of the meeting, Blackrock was stunned by a quadruple murder, marking 16 killings so far this year when compared to 14 for all of 2023.

The Prime Minister outlined that everyone failed in the prevention, and therefore, it has happened, and he believes part of the problem is that the policing effort is not as sharp as it should be, largely because the general maxim of familiarity breeds contempt. As a result, police from Trinidad will be deployed to the sister isle on rotation.

He also noted that he asked the people of Tobago that when this begins to happen, that they receive this kind of operation as being in their benefit and not trampling on their rights and privileges of being Tobagonian, they all need to work together.

In addition to this, as of yesterday, more officers were deployed to join forces in Tobago, and officials will also be monitoring CCTVs from within the island.

“E 99 is to be rerouted to answer calls from Tobago within Tobago, and the island will benefit from its portion of 2500 CCTV cameras to be installed in the country,” said the Prime Minister. 

He noted that these measures have already been welcomed by the Chief Secretary and the plans they have discussed are solid and grounded in day. 

PM Holness added that the plans are scientific in nature and once his government is able to execute them, the resources they have, chances are they will see a significant reduction in crime incidents.