Monday August 30,

The People’s Partnership general election manifesto contains a promise that, if elected to office, in its first 120 days in office it would “prepare an immediate action plan for containing criminal activities and reducing the number of murders—this first phase will be from June 2010 to December 2010.” 

There are fewer than 20 days to go before the 120-day period comes to an end and the Government is yet to produce its immediate action plan to reduce the number of murders in T&T. 

In the meantime, statistics from the T&T Police Service indicate that murders continue to be committed in T&T at a rate of more than one a day since the administration, led by Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, assumed office at the end of May.

Between January and July, 305 people in T&T were murdered. 

That’s an average of 44 murders a month. Some 86 murders were committed in June and July, according to the statistics compiled by the T&T Police Service, with 55 being killed in June and 31 in July. That’s 43 a month for the period that the People’s Partnership has been in power. 

There has been a 3.3 per cent decrease in the number of murders between the first seven months of this year and the similar period last year. In its 120-day plan, the People’s Partnership pledged to “deploy police on the streets, on the beat and in the communities and increase police presence everywhere.”

The Government also promised, in its first 120 days, to “initiate a process to make every police station a centre for crime containment and reduction, crime-fighting, community policing, statistical information gathering and communication linked to the National Operations Centre and we will establish five (5) model stations as the pilot.” The party also pledged that it would “begin to identify and address the fundamental challenges to the effective management of law and order.”

Murders

Month 2010 09

Jan 47 49

Feb 32 55

March 39 25

April 54 53

May 47 44

Jun 55 47

Jul 31 42

Total 305 315

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