Top Cop declares Matelot the safest village in Trinidad

With a population of little more than 500 persons, the village of Matelot in East Trinidad has been declared the safest village in TT with less than 20 crimes being reported for the year 2017.

According to a release issued by the Sangre Grande Regional Corporation yesterday, the Matelot Police Station recorded the largest percentage of deduction in serious crime among all Police Stations in Trinidad. This was revealed by acting Commissioner of Police Stephen Williams during his welcome remarks at a ceremony honouring officers of the Eastern Division.

Chairman of the Corporation Terry Rondon presented Senior Superintendent Garth Nelson of the Eastern Division with a plaque for his work in the communities.

Newsday spoke to Senior Superintendent Garth Nelson of the Eastern Division who credited the reduction to improvements in relations with the community and increased exercises, road blocks and foot patrols in the area.

He added that while he was grateful for the award, he could not accept credit for the achievement by himself and praised officers of all ranks in the Eastern Division for ensuring that Matelot and all other areas were safe for public.

"I have a team of officers here who are willing to work. It's not just about me. It's about motivating the officers, exposing them to courses and we have meetings where we exchange ideas and come up with new ways to keep the community safe.

"We are also looking to improve our solvability rate. Sometimes in other districts because of the number of reports the police may tend to slip between our fingers, that is virtually non-existent in Matelot because what we do from time to time is we will reflect on past crimes and return to interview persons."

Nelson also stressed the importance of maintaining good relations with members of the community and said despite the improvements, officers still had a lot of work before them.