Indarsingh: If criminals don’t kill you, mosquitoes will

“I can only conclude under the PNM if criminals do not kill you, mosquitoes will kill you.” Those were the words of the UNC MP for Couva South Rudranath Indarsingh as he spoke on the issues of crime, the One Caribbean Media (OCM) board appointments and VAT returns.

At an opposition media briefing on July 14, Indarsingh gave some of the crime-fighting initiatives the Opposition would implement if elected to government next year. However, he first apologised for technical issues which saw the live stream of its briefing disrupted.

Proper compensation for police, appointing a police commissioner in a decisive manner, easier access to firearms and revamped legislation were among the initiatives.

Crime was the leading headline, as Trinidad and Tobago recorded 14 killings last weekend.

Before he spoke on crime, Indarsingh addressed the dengue outbreak.

Indarsingh said, “We continue to condemn the Government and Minister of Health for not being proactive but reactive to this threat, this outbreak that has engulfed TT and presents a major challenge to the wellbeing and health of our people.”

He said when the Opposition tried to raise the issue in Parliament through an approved question, the Government took the position that the Opposition was being unpatriotic.

Indarsingh said the Opposition continued to ask Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh about the state of readiness of the country’s Insect Vector Divisions, the divisions’ human-resource capacity in each county and the availability of vehicles, fogging machines and chemicals.

Addressing crime, Indarsingh said the country had had to confront the worsening crime situation for the past nine years.

“Every weekend these are the common headlines we have grown accustomed to,” he said, referring to daily newspapers speaking of the weekend killings and crime.

Addressing home invasions, Indarsingh said there was one in his constituency in which a taxi driver was robbed and assaulted in a home he shared with his 81-year-old mother and 50-year-old physically-challenged brother. The taxi driver’s mother was severely beaten.

Indarsingh said it was clear that people did not feel safer and did not trust the Government and the Prime Minister. He added that police were unsuited to fight crime.

He said the PNM’s crime plan seemed to revolve around four points and a praying police commissioner.

“We have a peace pole being planted, a singing competition to fight crime and a Commissioner of Police who has instituted suggestion feedback boxes in police stations, hoping to win the war against crime in the 21st century.”

Indarsingh said he was forced to ask what more the Government wanted from the Opposition, as it had supported the Government on 35 pieces of legislation, the recent  Bail (Amendment) Bill among them.

He said the Government was rehashing an old script full of old measures that has had no impact on reducing crime.

Speaking to recently announced crime initiatives for Tobago, Indarsingh said the E-999 call centre for Tobago mirrors the one in Trinidad, from which many citizens did not get a prompt response.

“The deployment of Trinidad police officers in Tobago brings no comfort, as the nation is already concerned by the presence of criminal elements in the TT Police Force,” Indarsingh said.

He said the reference to the 182-camera surveillance system was an insult, since, “The hundreds of cameras in Trinidad have failed to solve crimes such as robberies, murders, car thefts, home invasions and kidnappings.”

He said a UNC Government would reintroduce tried and tested measures known to reduce crime and would appoint a minister of national security, police commissioner and other security personnel who were competent and capable and could fight crime with more than a suggestion box, prayer meeting and a song.