Between January 1, 2013, to December 31, 2017, 2,190 people have been murdered. Of that number, 391 of those killings have been solved. In fact, the amount of murders that have been solved over that period is even less than the number of murders that took place in 2014, which had the lowest toll in the past five years, with 405 killings.
Last year 495 people were murdered. This situation is causing fear among the population.
Those are alarming figures and with the current murder toll of 53 in less than 30 days, the figure for this year is projected to reach well over last year’s figure if the current trend is left uninterrupted.
Despite the forecasted gloom, head of the Homicide Bureau, Assistant Commissioner of Police Anthony James said with time, the right equipment, legislative backing and the public supporting them, the murder toll will be significantly reduced.
James, in a candid interview with the Sunday Guardian at the Police Administration Building last Friday, said the Homicide Bureau of Investigation (HBI) needs to “up their game”.
That, he said, will come with the proper training and equipment married with the laws that support law enforcement and, of course, time.
Currently there are over 200 police officers attached to the HBI which have offices in Port-of-Spain, Arouca, San Fernando and Tobago.
The bureau also includes officers from the sub unit of the Special Evidence Recovery Unit (SERU).
The ideal figure will be 400 officers, at least twice the current number. He said the bureau needed officers with the right skills set as the job requires viewing some of the most horrendous things human beings can do to each other.
He said the bureau needed “to attract the right individuals with the proper acumen” to treat with both witnesses and suspects, to be able to make suspects confess willingly and for witnesses to give evidence.
Not every officer, he said, is gifted with that interpersonal skill.
James said officers in the homicide unit needed to have dedication to the job, which requires long hours away from loved ones. This dedication is paramount with the frequency of murders now being committed.
There were over 100 murder between December and January 25, making it more than one killing per day.
Some witnesses using ‘extortion tactics’
The officers have been faced with many hurdles over the years as they try to solve murders—the major one being the unwillingness of witnesses to come forward and major gaps in the witness protection programme.
“Fear of giving evidence is a major hindrance. Family members are afraid to come forward to be witnesses for their own relatives. That is the main issue with most of the backlog cases. Even when people are charged and or detained the relatives are still afraid. What we can do is assure that the witness protection programme works.
“The other issue is that people love their freedom, the witness protection programme is a bit restrictive so some will not want to be so confined, even to the point of jeopardising their own safety,” James said.
The newest trend, James said, is where some witnesses have been using their testimony to advance themselves. He labelled it as “extortion tactics”, where some have been demanding that they be relocated to either the US or Canada if they are to give evidence. When Caribbean countries are suggested, the witnesses usually frown upon it. He called for some measure of patriotism from witnesses and appealed to them not to use their testimony as a bargaining chip. He said many cases in the past have collapsed as a result of witnesses who recanted their statements. James wants some sort of legislative support that compels or punishes witnesses who switch from their sworn statements.
James admitted that while the country is going at a snail’s pace to shift from eyewitnesses to science based policing, the necessary equipment and training are inching their way into the service.
He recalled that once upon a time police officers needed the permission of a home or business owner to retrieve their video footage, now it can be done with a warrant.
Police officers also need to learn new techniques and must be equipped with modern technology, James said. He said from his experience, it is better when an officer is sent abroad to learn from foreign investigator and get hands-on training on how to apply new techniques and use new technology.
This is far more beneficial than having lecturers visit the country and conduct workshops, he added.
Mental overload is an issue that needs to be addressed not just in his unit, he said, but throughout the service.
“Clearly we need to up the game.
We need the training, the technology, even if we shift away from eyewitness we need the scientific evidence and we need the equipment.
The technology is gradually coming in and as time progresses we will see better investigations and detection increased. We are optimistic that the crime wave will come down.
“My hope is that the public will join the fight with us because this vissue is not a police problem, but we need for all of us to come together” James said.