Victim and Witness Support Unit committed to ending cycle of crime

Children are vulnerable to the effects of crime and violence, according to the manager of the Police Victim and Witness Support Unit (VWSU) Aisha Price-Corbie, this morning as she urged the victims of crime and their relatives to seek counselling and emotional support from the unit.

Speaking at a press briefing at the Police Administration Building on Sackville Street, Port of Spain, Price-Corbie said children were particularly susceptible to the knock-on effects of crime and criminality and warned that unresolved trauma from victims can manifest in anti-social attitudes and behaviour.

"This is critical in mitigating the effects of unresolved trauma, which from our experience shows, that these adverse childhood experiences often form the genesis of dysfunction, substance abuse, and future criminal activity.

"The group of children that are impacted by domestic violence is really significant because often times we see children that grow up in homes of violence, quickly graduate to other negative behaviours as well as perpetrating crime, so this is something that is of key importance to us."