New CoP sees 10% fall in murders

Since Commissioner of Police Gary Griffith attained his office in August, roughly 100 days ago, criminals have been on the run. The commissioner has been present, and according to his colleagues, instrumental in major drug busts in Valencia, and more recently in Westmoorings.

But, has the new commissioner affected the murder rate?

Statistics coming out of the TTPS’s corporate communication office suggest that he has.

According to information sent to Newsday from the Crime and Problem Analysis branch (CAPA), the rate at which murders are being committed have declined.

In 2017, the total murder figure for the period between January 1 and December 7 was 466. This year for the same period, the murder toll stood at 496. That signifies an increase of 30 murders between last year and this one, but a closer look reveals a change since Griffith became commissioner.

More CAPA stats have indicated that for the period between August 17, to December 7 in 2017, there were 168 murders. In 2018 between August 17 – when Griffith took the Commissioner’s office – and December 7, there were 151. Meaning that in the same period, with the new commissioner at the helm of the TTPS, there have been 17 less murders, a decrease of ten per cent.

Commissioner Griffith spoke to Newsday over the phone yesterday, while he was out of the country, and said he did not consider the decrease a success but it was a step in the right direction.

“First of all, you will not be hearing from me anything pertaining to a decrease in serious crime. The country has heard that for years,” Griffith said, “I think it is inappropriate to be boasting about a decrease in serious crime while homicides continue to increase and, worse yet, the perception and fear of crime by citizens still exists. My objective is to reduce violent crime but also to reduce the perception and fear of crime.”

Griffith said rather than the ten per cent decrease it was more important to note that in the months prior to his appointment, comparative murder rates had shown that there had been a 53 per cent increase in murders.

“Meaning we were headed to 600 homicides per annum if we continued in that pattern,” Griffith said. “I am not going to look at that ten per cent as success, but I would consider that it is a step in the right direction... we have a very long way to go.”

Griffith attributed his recent successes in the fight against crime to several policy changes within the Police Service, and the assistance of law-abiding citizens.

Griffith said he was able to implement 13 policy changes which encouraged the concept of high visibility of operational units, better intelligence gathering and better operational policies and procedures. He was able to unify several intelligence agencies in the TTPS, and got them to work closely with other intelligence agencies in the Ministry of National Security.

“These are just stop-gap measures,” Griffith said, “there are things I intend to do to peg it back even further.”

Griffith said in 2019 he intended to implement 50 more policies that would revamp and re-brand the TTPS, turning it into a well-oiled machine.

He said while the first 100 days of his appointment had seen success, it was no easy task to reach to that point. The Commissioner spoke of spending hours away from his home and loving wife Nicole Dyer-Griffith, working 18- to 20-hour days, seven days a week, all so he could change the face of the TTPS, and take control of the country from the hands of criminals and back into the hands of law-abiding citizens.

Griffith also said if he continued to succeed with his plan of crippling the drug trade in the country, criminals might become more desperate and more violent.

“When it comes to reducing serious crime, especially homicide, this entails the several thousand gang members who continue to try to kill each other. I intend to seize as much of the illegal drugs and weapons entering our country as possible and when you do that it may cause a squeeze, and that could put criminals into panic mode and increase the demand.

“That may cause even further agitation between gangs because there is less for them to feed on and prosper from. But it is said that you need to bleed to heal, and I intend to cripple the illegal drug economy that we have, shut down the illegal dens that are involved in illegal drugs and weapons, and make it more difficult for criminals to thrive. When we do that then we would see the light at the end of the tunnel.”

Griffith also thanked the public for their assistance in the fight against crime. He said his recent successes would not be possible without the assistance and intelligence given to them by law-abiding citizens. He encouraged citizens to work closely with the police.

“The more information they give the more I would be able to cripple the drug and illegal weapon economy and by doing that make it much more difficult for the gangs to continue with their activities.”

Griffith said his devotion to the cause of making TT a safe place came to him as a young man when he decided to sacrifice and give all of himself for the love of his country.

“I think this is the greatest country in the world and I think that if we put our heads together (against crime) it is just a matter of good over evil. I am just a humble servant acting as a conduit to make this country safe again.”