Police nab 1,100 people, recover 50 guns during SoE

SOME 1,142 people have arrested between December 30 and January 24 during the ongoing state of emergency (SoE), after 1,455 operations and 8,706 searches by the police.

Additionally, 50 guns have been seized, along with 1,270 rounds of assorted ammunition, 155kg of cannabis and 749g of cocaine.

Police were busy on the roads, detecting 3,915 traffic offences from 1,308 operations.

Despite this, during a police media conference at police headquarters on January 24, deputy Commissioner of Police (CoP) Junior Benjamin said the police had much more work to do.

“We are not satisfied because we believe there is still the need for us to continue to push as we seek to at least reduce the number of homicides … But we are going to continue to increase our operations.”

The murder toll for January stands at 25, compared with 37 during the same period last year. Reported home invasions also fell significantly, police reported, with only eight recorded this year compared to 46 during the same period last year.

“When we look at the stats, we are still very much humbled by the performance of the police as we continue to strive to bring that level of law and order within our society,” Benjamin said.

Benjamin said police planned to adopt a more robust approach to law enforcement, including intelligence-led policing, increasing police presence in public spaces like business places and banks, and maintaining focus on minor and serious crimes.

He also encouraged the public to report police misconduct through the TTPS (TT Police Service) hotline, 736-TTPS.

“We’ll be going hard at those individuals,” he said, referring to “priority offenders” in the service.

Asked what assurances he could give the public who might fear reporting corrupt officers, Benjamin replied, "As it relates to officers, we have a team already set up to deal with those matters. We are saying that there is that level of transparency in the police so whatever we do we want to ensure it's about transparency, integrity and accountability.

ACP Richard Smith, head of the extortion unit, highlighted progress in tackling extortion cases. He addressed the charges and sentencing against businesswoman Sabrina Kalicharan.

Kalicharan, 37, was charged with five counts of demanding money by menace and one count of robbery.

The first person held during the SoE for alleged extortion, Kalicharan was granted $750,000 bail with surety by Chaguanas court master Ambrose Persad-Singh on January 22.

“This is something we’re quite pleased about,” Smith said, adding that high bail amounts served as a deterrent.

He said smaller bail sums in prior cases might have often allowed perpetrators to continue illegal activities.

“Bail should not be punitive.”

Police legal officer Sgt Verson Jeanville provided updates on efforts to dismantle gangs.

He said investigations into gang activity remained a priority, with several cases at an advanced stage.

“There are many dedicated officers who work tirelessly to pursue these investigations and to disrupt the criminal activities of these gangs,” Jeanville said.

He announced files on three major gangs and several smaller factions were under review by the service’s legal team to determine the strength of evidence and readiness for prosecution.

“We hope to approach the Director of Public Prosecutions very soon with a view of securing not only prosecutions but also convictions against these individuals,” Jeanville added.

However, he withheld details about the gangs and the number of people implicated to protect ongoing investigations. The police also did not disclose the current number of alleged gang members arrested. On January 20, Smith said more than 200 people were arrested.