Plan to combat crime crisis in central Trinidad

March 02, 2018 in Regional

A crime fighting plan is being rolled out for central Trinidad, says Caroni East MP Dr Tim Gopeesingh.

This follows a meeting between a team from the Caroni East constituency and Acting Commissioner of Police Stephen Williams on Thursday.

The meeting was held following a request by Gopeesingh amid the on-going crime plague.

Gopeesingh said a number of proposals were discussed to ease the crime scourge in central Trinidad.

He said, in 2017 there were 85 homicides and 1,819 serious crimes in the Central Division.

Deputy Commissioner Deodath Dulalchan also attended the meeting.

Gopeesingh was accompanied by a delegation from the Caroni East constituency, including councillors and constituency executive officials.

At the 90-minute meeting, several specific issues were discussed and assurances given, he said.

Williams assured that increased manpower, vehicles and other resources will be assigned to the relevant communities. He said there will be additional policing and patrols of the nine criminal hotspots. There will also be a presence by national Task Forces.

Gopeesingh said he was informed that closed circuit cameras would be installed at strategic locations and traffic wardens would be assigned to the borough to assist police officers.

He said community meetings are to be scheduled in order to sensitise residents of the police operations, and there will be efforts to expand the activities of the Police Youth Clubs, to attract the involvement of more youths.

Williams said the Trinidad and Tobago police Service (TTPS) goal was to build trust and confidence in the police service by residents.

“The meeting was held in a cordial atmosphere and its outcome was satisfactory. I look forward to the implementation of these and other crime-fighting measures in order to counter the crime plague in Caroni East and other districts of Central Trinidad,” he said.