Criminologist: Government, Judiciary must react more quickly to crime

Trinidad and Tobago faced a grim milestone in 2022, recording 605 homicides, making it the deadliest year in history. In a media briefing on Thursday, police admitted to recording 454 murders by the end of September, 2023, 18 more than for the same period last year.

In a phone interview on Monday, Dr Randy Seepersad, a criminologist and lecturer at the University of the West Indies, shared his insights on the current crime situation and the underlying issues fuelling criminal activities with Newsday.

He said the "bureaucratic nature" of government ministries hindered their ability to swiftly adapt to the ever-changing dynamics of crime. He added that the judicial system needed to handle cases more promptly.

He also said the detection rate for murder and other crimes was too low and needed to be remedied.

"There are deficiencies across different parts of the system. When combined, they make a system that doesn't respond as effectively as we would want.

"What we need to do is identify what the core priorities are."

He also urged the public to co-operate with law enforcement.

Speaking on the seven-page crime proposal sent by Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar in response to the Prime Minister's invitation on crime talks, Seepersad said "she has several things that are good suggestions, like how we can improve the pace of the judicial system or how we could avoid sending everybody to prison, which itself can create a problem because you create a pool of people that are schooled into criminality.”

Speaking on the budget and its allocation to national security, Seepersad said, "National security takes a chunk of the budget and rightfully so, but what matters is how they allocate the funds.

"The ministry has always been lacking in the preventative aspect. We see a lot of emphasis on (crime) suppression, which is well placed, but they deal with the problem after the fact.

"We almost never touch on the drivers that are causing crime, whether it be lack of educational achievement, lack of jobs, or problems in families. We are not touching on these things and they are getting worse and worse. We need a shift from post-facto suppression to addressing the root causes of crime."

ASP Gideon Dickson, head of the police Service Social and Welfare Association, hoped funds allotted in Monday's budget would aid with the refurbishment of Morvant, Manzanilla, Matelot and Sangre Grande police stations.

He added that Matura needed a new police station.

Dickson said, "We want modern buildings in the 21st century we are operating in. Police should not be operating out of any container or makeshift arrangement."

He also said officers needed to be re-certified and retrained so they could perform at an “optimal level” and fight crime.

In the 2022/2023 fiscal year, $7.453 billion was allocated to national security.

When asked about government subventions made to his organisation, Dickson said, "I am yet to get a breakdown from the police commissioner’s office on how the funds would have been spent during the last fiscal term. Allocations are often made, but the timeliness is not consistent with what is stated upfront. I cannot say in this instance what allocations were made.

“The organisation continues to go through transitions, 900 officers were promoted to the rank of corporal (last week). Unfortunately, 1,300 officers were unsuccessful in being promoted. I am asking them not to lose faith. The race is not for the swift but for those who can endure to the end."

Dickson called on officers who were not promoted and others who were having a hard time in general to reach out for support if they needed it.

"For any of our officers who are experiencing mental stress as a result of work or personal matters, we have in place a social-work unit that is a phone call away.

"We also collaborate with external agencies if the matter is beyond our scope. These units operate with a high degree of integrity, professionalism, and confidentiality."