Police: 13 out of every 100 murders solved

Snr Supt, Homicide, Rishi Singh says the unavailability of evidence is the major reason for the current 13 per cent solve rate for murders.

He made the comment as he defended the work of police officers while speaking at the press briefing at the Police Administration Building in Port of Spain on Thursday.

Earlier in the press briefing, Supt Lindon Douglas revealed there had been 454 reported murders for the first nine months of the year, 60 of which had been solved.

Crime statistics available on the TTPS’ website indicate this is an increase compared to the same period last year, in which 436 murders were reported.

The police statistics also revealed that September was the second deadliest month for the year, with 60 murders, after January’s 61.

The majority of the murders were classified as gang-related (184), followed by murders with unknown motives (99) and drug-related murders (50).

Singh said staffing at the Homicide Bureau is not a problem.

“We are at our sanctioned strength. Our commissioner ensures that the Homicide Bureau receives priority support both in human resource and physical resource allotment.”

He empathised with citizens who question the solve rate, but added that the issue was mainly due to lack of evidence.

“It has very little to do in the first instance with the actual resource allotment, and it has to do with the evidence that is initially available to us. Despite the fact that we take journeys to investigate the matter, there are several factors that impact upon detection. "Staffing is a significant thing, but the availability of evidence is the overall, overarching issue that decides whether we can charge somebody or not.”