Hinds: Police stepping up crime fight in Belmont

NATIONAL Security Minister Fitzgerald Hinds says the police are stepping up their crime-fighting efforts in Belmont in response to a spike in murders in that area this year.

Speaking to the Newsday during the handover of two drones to the Defence Force from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) on November 20, Hinds said the drones, which will be used to combat the illicit firearms trade, would also benefit Belmont residents.

“Up to yesterday morning it is being reported that there were some shootings in the St Barbs area,” he said.

On the day Hinds spoke at the handover, Christopher Timothy, 31, of Laventille was gunned down outside a garage in Gloster Lodge Road, Gonzales, while he was watching repairs being done to his car.

Hinds said, “It reflects, as I say, the violent nature of elements in society. It also reflects the presence of illicit firearms and ammunition. This donation of two drones is a direct attack on that. So we’re doing what we have to do in those regards."

Hinds also said police have been directed to increase patrols in Belmont.

“We have mandated this and they are engaged in heightened levels of patrol. We have provided them with vehicles, we have provided them with increased manpower, we have provided them with the resources that they need.

“It is the police who must impose themselves on these circumstances in the interest of public safety and security, and I am satisfied that they are doing that. I would obviously want to see even more because the killings continue, but we understand that different types of crimes require different types of policing.

He said joint patrols in city centres brought "a certain level of comfort" to a traumatised population and deterred criminals from those places.

“But that does not necessarily deal with the guy who already has a gun, who will creep around the back fence to kill someone in Belmont. So that too requires a different type of policing."
He said these included the use of drones and  other policing techniques.

Hinds said citizens also have a responsibility in the fight against crime.

“The best remedy for this is individuals taking the position that TT offers opportunities for all of us. Whether it is in the media, business, sports or academics, TT offers tremendous opportunities. And there is no need to want to do those things.

“Some people, notwithstanding, will do it, and it is the duty of law enforcement to deal with it in accordance with the law, and the prison will do the rest.”