Hinds: UNC gets in the way of Government's crime-fighting efforts

NATIONAL Security Minister Fitzgerald Hinds accused the Opposition UNC of constantly trying to stymie the Government's efforts to curb crime in Trinidad and Tobago. He levelled this accusation against the Opposition during his contribution to debate on a private motion in the House of Representatives on Friday,

"Every time we try to fight crime in this country. The UNC gets in the way."

Hinds rejected earlier claims by Naparima MP Rodney Charles that crime in TT was skyrocketing and the PNM was doing nothing to stop it.

"Set of hypocrites. The country is full of hypocrites and this Parliament is not devoid of some."

During several parts of his contribution, Hinds evoked the anger of Opposition MPs as he mentioned matters which happened under the tenure of the former UNC-led People's Partnership (PP) government between May 24, 2010 and September 7, 2015.

The verbal exchanges between Hinds and Opposition MPs caused Speaker Bridgid Annisette-George to intervene to caution both sides.

She reminded Hinds that the debate concerned the current government. Annisette-George also overruled some of the complaints from Opposition MPs that Hinds was being irrelevant.

At one point, Annisette-George advised Couva South MP Rudranath Indarsingh to briefly leave the Parliament Chamber. Indarsingh complied and returned later in the sitting.

Referring to the escape of five prisoners from the Golden Grove prison on March 20, Hinds said the UNC did nothing to improve the prison's infrastructure while in office between 2010 and 2015.

"The buildings were just as they left them. They left an unworthy remand prison in Golden Grove."

Only recently, Hinds said the south block of the prison was repaired and upgraded. "The work has now started on the north wing. That is to improve the conditions for the inmates and to cut out the business of slopping out as they called it, using bails."

Hinds also said a remand court has been established at Golden Grove. "They (UNC) didn't leave that. We left that." Since returning to office, he continued, the PNM has brought several pieces of anti-crime legislation to Parliament for passage.

But Hinds lamented that the UNC has regularly refused to support legislation that needs a special majority for passage. Recalling previous complaints by former attorney general Faris Al-Rawi about the lack of opposition support for such legislation, Hinds said Government often had to amend the legislation so it could be passed.

"We had to draft legislation with the criminals in mind and with the UNC in mind."

Referring to statistics provided by the police, Hinds said there were 450 murders in 2021, compared to 399 in 2020. But he observed, "The statistics still represent a significant decrease in what occurred in previous years.

Hinds said there were 509 murders in 2019 and 516 murders in 2018.

"The data presented shows no indication of any rapid or out and out increase in murders. Those are the statistics. He added there were similar patterns with respect to break-ins and robberies

In the former, there were 2,176 (2017), 2,226 (2018). 2,217 (2019) and 1,736 (2020), 1,510 (2021) and 357 so far, this year.

In the latter, there were 2,913 (2017), 3,246 (2018), 3,018 (2019), 2,082 (2020), 1,868 (2021) and 494 to date, this year.

Hinds declared that Charles claim that these statistics indicate a surge in crime in TT was based on a false premise. On ongoing anti-crime initiatives, Hinds was confident that national firearm retrieval programme being conducted by the police would result in at least half of an estimated 12,000 illegal firearms in TT being seized.

He claimed this was something the UNC would not talk about. "Not a squeak. They must tell me in this debate, why not?"

Hinds also claimed that some parliamentarians in TT would not support certain laws "because they are worried about how it will affect them."