[UPDATED] VIOLENT CRIME RUNNING AWAY

National Security Minister Stuart Young.
National Security Minister Stuart Young.

THERE have been more than 450 murders for the year and the country is fighting not to reach the murder rate of Jamaica, National Security Minister Stuart Young has reported.

He was contributing to debate on the Bail (Amendment) Bill in the Senate yesterday.

He said the reality of what is being faced today in the national security realm "is extremely frightening."

The highest number of murders ever recorded was in 2008. The figure for that year was 550, according to some sources, though others give a lower figure. Last year there were 517, according to police figures.

Young said on Monday he chaired a meeting with the heads of all the divisions and the second-in-command of the police, and the conclusion was: "The murder rates – the use of violent crime – in our opinion, are at risk of running away."

The meeting was also attended by the Chief of Defence Staff, Air Commodore Darryl Daniel, his head of operations and head of intelligence, and the intelligence services.

"And it is always coming out of those meetings that, as a citizen of TT, I am most disturbed. Because you see, the reality of what we're facing there, out on the streets, is very different, fortunately, for the vast majority of TT to what we know as reality. Because you see, perception is reality. So reading about crime in the newspapers, seeing reports of criminal activity on the television, is very, very different...from when you feel touched and are exposed to crime."

Young said there had been 455 murders as at November 11, of which 144 were gang-related, 60 for revenge and 53 drug-related. Of the murders, 88.2 per cent were committed with guns. There have been 625 shootings and woundings so far this year, compared to 418 last year.

"That is like a war zone," Young declared.

Police statistics report there were 435 reported murders up to October last year. Young’s police statistics were up to November 11.

He recalled that Opposition Senator Saddam Hosein had suggested TT look at Jamaica's bail legislation, which denies bail for 60 days and allows a review every 14 days.

"Let us not be fooled by what takes in Jamaica. We are fighting hard in National Security to make sure we do not get anywhere near what our brothers and sisters are facing in Jamaica.

"Their murder rate is over 1,800 a year (the US Department of State Overseas Security Advisory Council reports it is currently 1,791 murders with 36 in the last week)."

TT's population is about 1.3 million, compared to Jamaica's approximately 2.89 million.

Young pointed out Jamaica had legislation that allowed its government to go to Parliament to declare an area a state of emergency. He said when that was raised in TT's Parliament, he opposed it because he knew it would not work.

"It is an acceptance that there is nothing left behind you. And I stood with the men and women in our security service and apparatus and said, 'Under my watch, that will not happen.' Because we have not exhausted every single opportunity and every single operation, legally, we can do, within the parameters of the law, to fight the scourge of what is going on out there."

He said police crime statistics showed from January-October 31, 2019 police seized 841 illegal firearms, compared to 702 for the same period last year.

In the Port of Spain division, firearms seized from January to November 11 were 71, compared to 75 last year and 1,192 rounds of ammunition, compared to 1,500 last year. The total number of rounds of ammunition seized at this time was 9,828 compared to 15,278 last year.

"Every single round of ammunition is created to kill somebody. Fifteen thousand is what we found and seized. How much more is outside there, God forbid, to hurt and harm any law-abiding citizen of TT?"

In the southern division 104 guns were seized this year compared to 127 last year.

Repeated calls to the cellphone of Commissioner of Police Gary Griffith went unanswered and there was no response to either a text or WhatsApp message.

This story was originally published with the title "Young: TT has 455 murders, fighting not to reach JA's 1,800" and has been adjusted to include additional details. See original post below.

THERE have been more than 450 murders for the year and the country is fighting not to reach the murder rate of Jamaica, reported National Security Minister Stuart Young.

He was contributing to debate on the Bail (Amendment) Bill in the Senate Tuesday.

He said the reality of what is being faced today in the national security realm "is extremely frightening." He reported that on Monday he chaired a meeting with the heads of all the divisions and their second-in-command of the police.

"Of those divisions that the murder rates, the use of violent crime, in our opinion are at risk of running away."

The meeting was also attended by the Chief of Defence Staff Air Commodore Darryl Daniel, his head of operations and head of intelligence, and the intelligence services.

"And it is always coming out of those meetings that as citizen of Trinidad and Tobago I am most disturbed. Because you see the reality of what we're facing there, out on the streets, is very different, fortunately, for the vast majority of TT to what we know as reality. Because you see perception is reality. So reading about crime in the newspapers, seeing reports of criminal activity on the television is very, very different...from when you feel touched and are exposed to crime."

He said there were 455 murders as at November 11 with 144 gang-related, 60 for revenge and 53 drug-related. Of the murders 88.2 per cent committed by firearms. For shootings and woundings there were 625 this year compared to 418 last year.

"That is like a war zone."

Police statistics report there were 435 reported murders up to October last year while Young’s police statistics were up to November 11.

He recalled that Opposition Senator Saddam Hosein suggested TT look at Jamaica's bail legislation, which denied bail for 60 days and allows a review every 14 days.

"Let us not be fooled by what takes in Jamaica. We are fighting hard in national security to make sure we do not get anywhere near what our brothers and sisters are facing in Jamaica. Their murder rate is over 1,800 a year (the US Department of State Overseas Security Advisory Council reports it is currently 1791 murders with 36 in the last week)."

TT's population is about 1.3 million compared to Jamaica at about 2.89 million.

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