CoP vows to 'aggressively' pursue criminals: We will not surrender

Hours after four people were gunned down in separate incidents across Trinidad, Police Commissioner Erla Christopher said her officers were prepared to bring the perpetrators to justice.

On Monday night, 41-year-old hairdresser Candace Griffith was shot dead at a birthday party on Temple Street, Arima, wounding five others including two teenagers.

On Tuesday night, Kernella Saunders, 35 and a woman identified only as Lashay were gunned down on Train Line, near Pope Avenue, Malabar.

Also on Tuesday night businessman Chevalle Ramjattan, 41, was shot dead while driving away from his Aranguez pharmacy.

In a media release on Wednesday, Christopher admitted the spate of murders was concerning, but maintained that police were firm in their resolve to fight crime.

She said, while she was aware the murders affected the national psyche, strategies were being designed and introduced to reduce serious crimes including murders.

"We will persist in our efforts to rid the streets of illegal firearms, the choice of weapons for criminals.

"In 2023 we have already seized 219 illegal firearms and 6,821 rounds of ammunition and that campaign will continue."

She added that while police from the Homicide Bureau of Investigations were continuing their enquiries into each murder, the public also had a responsibility to provide information.

"Help us so that we can stem the tide of this lawlessness before other individuals and families are affected."

She said anti-crime strategies were designed to meet the needs and challenges of different communities, noting that a few initiatives had already yielded some results.

In addition to crime prevention, she said those strategies would also go a long way towards building stronger relations with communities, particularly through a Community Justice Clinic in all ten police divisions on April 29.

That programme, Christopher said, had the potential to reduce serious crimes and murders which could stem from family disputes.

Noting that crime trends changed overtime, she said police were prepared to meet the challenge by updating their own plans to keep pace. She added that she was confident in the success of those strategies once the public and other stakeholders lent their assistance.