Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley last night called on the nation to “spare a thought or prayer for individuals and families who have become victims of crime,” stating that the criminals elements having been making T&T into a living hell, as the country faces record killings.
Delivering his first wide-ranging address to the nation for 2018 titled Towards a Better Future for All Rowley first touched on crime, stating that the New Year had opened with reports of the continued murderous scourge in the country, as the pain of families who lost their loved ones at the hand of the criminals elements “is our pain.”
Urging citizens to “keep hope alive” in the fight against career violent criminals, Rowley said they were now seeing a new energy within the T&T Police Service.
Last year, Rowley said the Police Service, through its efforts, was able to confiscate 1,064 firearms and 1,800 rounds of ammunition while over 12,000 people arrested “yet we face almost record killings. We must, and we will, win this war on crime.”
On Sunday, the murder rate stood at 17 for the year.
In going forward, Rowley said new approaches are at work in the SSA and new energy which were beginning to infect the ranks of the TTPS, “as we have been seeing improvements in their response and directions”, noting though that many huge negatives still exist.
“We need to increase speed on all fronts so that we can get to that destination of safety and security which the population deserves. With appropriate leadership and effective actions all around, from the home to the Parliament, from the school yard to the police station, we will overcome the violent few who are determined to make hell out of this paradise which we all have inherited as our homeland.”