Protection for prosecutors after Randall Hector's assassination

PROSECUTORS from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) will be provided with additional security in the wake of  the December 31 assassination of their former colleague, special prosecutor Randall Hector.

Hector, 43, was gunned down moments after leaving the Seventh-Day Adventist Church at Stanmore Avenue in Port of Spain, after a state of emergency was declared to deal with an upsurge in gang violence.

DPP Roger Gaspard, SC, met with his "traumatised" staff on January 3. State attorneys at the DPP's office are also fearful for their safety.

Speaking to reporters after the police service's annual interfaith service in San Fernando on January 5, Commissioner of Police Erla Harewood-Christopher said investigators are working on providing key stakeholders in the criminal-justice sector with additional security.

She was unable to say if this would see prosecutors return to the courts come January 6. They had refused to do so after Hector's murder.

"I don't control the Judiciary. I'm responsible for security."

Hector was the last of 624 people to be murdered in 2024, the country's bloodiest year to date, seconded by 2022, with 605 killings.

Hector's assassination came the day after a curfew-less state of emergency was declared to allow police extra powers to deal with an imminent threat of widespread reprisal gang killings.

Hector had just delivered the New Year's Eve sermon and was walking back to his vehicle with his wife and children when a Nissan B-15 car and a black SUV pulled up and two gunmen got out and shot him several times before escaping. Church officials took him to hospital, where he later died.

Police believe his murder was gang-related, as he was a special prosecutor for the Office of the DPP to prosecute gang-related cases.

Senior police sources confirmed the Special Branch was collaborating with the Office of the DPP to do threat assessments on state attorneys involved in prosecuting alleged gang affiliates.

Authorities are also exploring additional protective measures to ensure the security of those in the criminal justice system but were reluctant to give details.