Gang killings stump police

Gang-related murders remain a major challenge for the police to solve, as witnesses are either too scared to come forward, intimidated or protect offenders, says Police Commissioner Gary Griffith.

These killings account for the largest category of cases annually.

Crime statistics for the first eight months of this year point to a decline of over 25 per cent in violent crimes, which include murder, rape, kidnapping, shooting and wounding with intent, serious indecency, robberies and assault.

Acting Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of operations Jayson Forde said the police were aiming at a 40 per cent detection rate, and linked the improved performance to the "visionary leadership from the CoP, the executive and divisional commanders."

But the ability of the police to arrest and charge offenders was stagnant or dropped in many instances, with the exception of kidnapping, kidnapping for ransom. Fewer illegal guns were taken off the streets than for the comparable period last year, the statistics revealed.

Griffith said the restrictions imposed for the covid19 pandemic since mid-March were not a factor in the smaller number of violent crimes being committed. He referred to the burgeoning crime in a host of US cities such as Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, Milwaukee, Kansas City and Los Angeles under pandemic conditions, to emphasise his point.

Closer to home, in other countries in the region, stricter measures have been employed against covid19 to curtail the movement of people, such as curfews, which has resulted in a drastic drop in crime.

Griffith said the loss of jobs usually leads to a rise in crime, with more people being frustrated, increasing robberies and other offences – but the opposite had taken place in TT.

The public judges the effectiveness of the police service by its ability to solve murders and reduce the number. The trend has been a decline by 81 murders at the end of August and an increase in the arrest of offenders by two per cent. For 2019, murders stood at 365 at the end of August; for the comparable period this year the figure was 284.

There have been 291 murders to date for this year, as compared to 373 for the same period last year, according to Griffith.

The end-of-year figure for 2019 went up to 523, the second-highest in the country's history.

Griffith has said previously that the award of state contracts to criminal gangs was fuelling gang-related murders and had raised the matter with the political directorate. Last year, gang violence was far more prevalent with rival opponents engaging in daylight gun battles in city centres and crowded areas.

Police seized fewer illegal guns for the first eight months of 2020, with the number decreasing to 534, as compared to 611 last year.

But a further breakdown showed 21 more assault rifles were confiscated this year and a staggering 33,061 rounds of assorted illegal ammunition were recovered as compared to 7,948 rounds last year. The largest find occurred in the Central Division when police recovered 23,004 rounds of .22 ammunition in July.

Asked whether divisional commanders in the nine police divisions had been given targets to achieve, and whether they are performing optimally in light of the murder statistics, the CoP admitted, "There is room for improvement."

He said over the last five years there had been a constant increase in violent crime, but for the first time "we are seeing a gradual decrease in crime."

For the month of August, he said, there were 22 murders, "the lowest in the last five years."

Griffith did not take all the credit for the decrease in crime and said the public was becoming more helpful and mature.

He said, however, the problem in solving gang-related murders remained a major challenge, as witnesses were not willing to come forward, as opposed to the number of people who co-operate when police are involved in a fatal shooting.

The commissioner said the inability to collect useful DNA evidence in drive-by shootings and other scientific evidence reduces the ability to solve gang killings without witnesses, a problem encountered by law enforcement officers in countries such as Colombia and Venezuela.

Griffith said the ability of the police to solve such crimes cannot happen overnight but was optimistic that the situation will get better as the public was starting to co-operate.

Serious crimes and solve rate

According to police statistics, the total number of violent crimes for the first eight months of 2020 dropped from 3,583 to 2,329 and the detection rate also declined from 26 per cent to 25 per cent.

Murders for the same period moved from 365 to 284 and the detection rate improved by two to 17 per cent.

Reports of shooting and wounding with intent dropped from 485 to 326, with an improved solve rate of 36 per cent, up by four per cent.

Reports of rape, incest and other sexual offences had a drastic drop from 618 to 385 and the detection rate remained stagnant at 44 per cent.

Reports of serious indecency moved from 19 to 12, with a decline in the detection rate from 58 per cent to 50 per cent.

The offence of kidnapping was slashed from 112 to 61, with the detection rate moving from 56 per cent to 62 per cent. Kidnapping for ransom fell from 13 to four, with the detection rate jumping from eight per cent to 25 per cent.

Robberies dropped from 1,971 to 1,257. The detection rate fell by two to 17 per cent.

Reports of assault fell from 10, 798 to 7, 047. The detection rate also fell by two to 21 per cent.

And finally, reports of fraud and other white-collar crimes which include money laundering, dropped from 416 to 195. The detection rate declined by two to 26 per cent.