Kamla 'blasted vex' at increasing crime rate

OPPOSITION Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar wants the public to ignore allegations by the government that the UNC does not care about crime. In fact, she said, she is "blasted vex" about it.

Persad-Bissessar was speaking at a public meeting in San Juan on Monday evening.

She said some government members alleged the UNC "got a bonanza and are celebrating" the crime surge.

"What kind of sick people will think that anybody would celebrate a crime surge?" she asked.

"How unreal and off the ground they are."

The Opposition had called on the Prime Minister to hold anti-crime talks with it, but he did not accept.

The UNC started its own anti-crime talks with the public, which Persad-Bissessar said have had a "huge turnout" so far. The next meeting is on February 19.

"I vex. I blasted vex and fed up of this wicked, incompetent government.

"No one delights in the homicide statistics of human beings. We will do everything we can to deal with crime... This government has no intention of engaging in anything real."

The government's solution, she said, is to blame everyone else but itself.

Dr Rowley recently went to the US for national security talks with high-ranking officials.

Persad-Bissessar asked why he opted to "go foreign" instead of engaging with the people who elected him into office.

She said the unemployment levels in Trinidad and Tobago are also an issue.

She said she recently advertised three vacancies in the Office of the Opposition Leader, which yielded over 1,000 applicants.

"Why is that? You think they really want to come and work with Kamla? They just want to work! They want jobs because there are no jobs in the country for people."

She also reiterated the UNC's desire for stand-your-ground laws, slamming Commissioner of Police Erla Harewood-Christopher for recently saying she has only dealt with 100 of 25,000 FUL (firearms user's license) applications.

UNC alderman Kareem Baird said the reality of crime hit his family in December 2023 when his wife and brother-in-law were killed.

"It still is a daunting experience to witness to understand, to feel...Every day, you still go through the pain and the hurt. Every day, I watch my three-year-old son and have to answer the question, 'Where mummy?' 'Why mummy not coming home?' 'Why mummy not waking up?' That is something, brothers and sisters, I don't wish for anyone."

Baird's wife Siniaya Lessey and her brother Simeon were shot dead outside of the Courts Megastore in El Socorro, San Juan on December 17, 2023.

On December 25, PC Sidney Roberts was charged with the siblings' murder.

Roberts, 34, was assigned to the Homicide Bureau of Investigations at the time of the incident. He was also charged with shooting with intent to do grievous bodily harm to another man.

Barataria/San Juan MP Saddam Hosein said he felt scared watching Harewood-Christopher's recent appearance before a joint select committee.

He suggested she "consult with a West Indian reader.

"I was astounded to know that is the person who is protecting us in this country."

He said his constituents have shown interest in stand-your-ground laws as they are "completely fed up of what is taking place."

Hosein said many excellent police officers in Trinidad and Tobago are trying their best.

But he said he was told there is only one functional vehicle at the Barataria Police Station right now and called for more vehicles.