Trinidad records 17 murders over weekend, Opposition slams PM Rowley

Trinidad and Tobago: With 17 murders recorded in Trinidad over the weekend, the opposition is calling for the Prime Minister, Dr Keith Rowley, to take full responsibility for the sudden surge in crime incidents.

Opposition MP Rudranath Indarsingh accused the government of not engaging in any effective measure that would control crime and said it is indicative of a failure in the overall leadership.

He said, “I can only conclude that under the PNM, if criminals do not kill you, mosquitoes will kill you.” He lamented that the country has become too accustomed to the increasing number of homicides.

Indarsingh noted that extortion is widespread, crime detection has not improved, the judicial system is clogged, there are more guns and ammunition in circulation, and gangs and their members are operating with impunity.

In addition to this, he criticized the Commissioner of Police for coming up with ineffective crime-fighting initiatives. “We have a Commissioner of Police who is praying, we have a singing competition to fight crime, and we have a commissioner of police who has instituted suggestion feedback boxes in police stations hoping to win the war against crime,” he said.

Indar Singh also expressed a lack of confidence in the measures mentioned by the Commissioner to address the crime situation in Tobago.

He said, “The deployment of Trinidad police officers in Tobago brings no comfort, as the nation is already concerned about the presence of criminal elements in the Trinidad and Tobago Police force.”

According to him, they are saying the opposition has supported the government in 35 pieces of legislation meant to assist in fighting crime, such as the Bail Amendment Bill and the polygraph testing bill, yet crime continues to terrorize the nation.

“It is a situation that we have had to deal with and confront as a people for the last nine years. Every weekend, these are the common headlines,” added the opposition minister. 

He noted it is time that Prime Minister Keith Rowley takes responsibility for crime, and stated that should the UNC be reelected into government, it will have the political will to make the necessary decisions which will result in the reduction of crime.