T&T among top 6 homicidal nations... Jamaica on the decline
Darryl Heeralal
Monday, April 10th 2006

TRINIDAD and Tobago has become more homicidal than Jamaica-while murders are decreasing there, the murder rate here is steadily on the rise. Over the last four years Jamaica has had the third highest per capita murder rate in the world, only surpassed by Colombia and South Africa with an average of more than 1,000 murders a year. The average per capita rate in Jamaica over the last four years has been above 40 for every 100,000.

Trinidad's average per capita murders for every 100,000 over the same period has been between 25 and 30 putting us in the top six homicidal nations worldwide. In 2005 Jamaica's murder rate went up by 28.43 per cent compared with 2004 while Trinidad and Tobago's homicide rate went up by 32.64 per cent for the same period. Our Caribbean neighbour is infamous for murders, but Trinidad and Tobago is slowly gaining a similar reputation internationally based on the amount of negative media publicity in North America and Britain.

Several publications, including the LA Times, Miami Herald, the BBC, a number of Internet websites and updated travel warnings from the British, Americans and Canadians have all labelled Trinidad and Tobago as a murderous nation.
Most publications continue to compare both islands along crime figures. Jamaica has seen a drop of over 20 per cent in its murder rate this year (up to the end of February) compared with Trinidad which has recorded a 20 per cent increase in homicides.

Based on crime figures published by the Jamaica's Constabulary Force there has been a 21.45 per cent decline in murders for the first two months of this year compared with the same period last year. Up to the end of February, Jamaica recorded 216 murders compared with 275 in 2005. Murders in Trinidad and Tobago have gone up by 20 per cent over the same period, 60 in 2006 and 50 in 2005.

The per capita murder rate in Trinidad is also higher percentage-wise than Jamaica's. Trinidad and Tobago has a population of 1.3 million (Central Statistical Office) and Jamaica 2.7 million. In 2004 Jamaica with 1,145 murders had a per capita rate of 42.40 per 100,000 and a 59.25 in 2005. In Trinidad and Tobago the per capita rate in 2004 was 20 (260 murders) and 29.69 (386 murders) in 2005.

Comparatively while the percentage increase in the per capita rate in Jamaica was 39.74, our rate jumped up by 48.45 per cent. In a month by month breakdown for 2006 over 2005, Jamaica's murder rate went by 19.86 per cent in January and 23.25 per cent in February.

In Trinidad and Tobago the murder rate went up by 78.26 per cent in January and went down by 29.62 per cent in February. Despite the drop there was still a difference of ten murders over the same period. While no figures for March were provided for Jamaica, the homicide rate for the third month of this year went up by 72.41 per cent compared with March 2005.

National Security Minister Martin Joseph has blamed the high increase in the murder rate here on the drug and arms trade. The United States State Department in a report indicated that US intelligence has detected an increase in the transshipment of drugs from South America through our borders.

Money the source of crime woes
By Wendy Campbell
T'dad Guardian 27.03.2005

As the murder rate climbed to 100, after yesterday’s double-killing in Western Trinidad, a member of the United States Customs and Border Protection says this country is bleeding. This is because other Caribbean islands believe this country is a problematic place in which to live. Enrique Archibold, adviser to the US Customs and Border Protection, believes, however, that the current crime problem has a lot to do with this country’s wealth. From the Customs and Excise office on Abercromby Street, Archibold said last week people from other Caribbean islands were saying they did not want to come and work in this country. “Isn’t Trinidad the capital of kidnapping?” he said he was asked while in Barbados. Many other people, he said, were asking what was happening to this country. “Every other Caribbean country has its little knick-knacks, but it doesn’t seem to be as identified as the crimes in Trinidad,” Archibold said, having been a victim of robbery himself. He said a man ripped his cellular phone off his waist.

Archibold said because money was flowing, criminals were focusing on drugs, trafficking and terrorism to keep control of the market. “They need to keep these things alive.” Explaining his terrorist statement, Archibold said this meant not being able to go out and enjoy fetes and parties. “Weapons are in the country, and these things are coming in to the market in Trinidad. “So although your focus is drugs, you have to now widen your scope and take into consideration you have oil and gas.” Reiterating that T&T was a focal point in the Caribbean, Archibold said although this country had been certified under the International Ship and Port Security (ISPS) Code, certain things could leave the country undetected.

Compliance with this code demands that stricter security measures be put in place before the loading of vessels. Archibold said small boats from other Caribbean islands brought merchandise into the country, and was often merged.
“That puts more work on Trinidad, because we have to make sure that what is packed and shipped is done in accordance with ISPS. “Sometimes, things can go undetected,” he said, pointing out that some of these islands are not up to the standard as that of T&T and the US. This is where the training of Customs officers comes into play, he said.

“If we should have a situation right now, where we open a container and something is there that we can’t recognise, we should have systems in place that a person can be notified and appropriate action can be taken not to create a panic... so there should be trained officers,” Archibold said. He said when he first came here three years ago, he discussed whether the problems should be highlighted. He was told, however: “Our problems are not as large as looked upon as in the United States.” Three years later, Archibold says instead of the problem decreasing, it is increasing to the point where people are saying things like: “I am going somewhere else” and “I don’t like this.” If something had been done three years ago, he said, “we might have continued to say ‘this is a Caribbean island and we don’t have any problems’.”

Bloody March.....Deadliest month as murder toll hits 100
Darryl Heeralal
Monday, March 27th 2006

MURDERS not only reached 100 in March but have also broken the record for the number of homicides committed in any one month. Yesterday the top brass of the Homicide Bureau met to deal with routine administrative matters and plans were also said to have been discussed to deal with escalating murders in the Patna, Diego Martin and John John, Laventille areas. These are the areas where most of the killings have occurred.

Father of four Heston Joseph, 31, who was shot dead around 1.40 a.m. yesterday went down as murder 100 and the 42nd in March - with five days before the month ends. His murder followed a double homicide in River Estate, Patna, Diego Martin. In the first 26 days of March, the 42 murders committed have surpassed by two the record number of murders in an entire month - 40 in September 2005. Comparatively up to March 26 last year, 23 murders were committed.

In the past week, five murders each have been committed in a half mile radius in Patna and John John. Compared to the 73 murders recorded last year, homicides in 2006 have increased by 36.98 per cent, with 100 murders taking place in 85 days. In 2005, the 100-murder mark was recorded after 110 days when army Pte Ruben Cabbler was shot in an attempted robbery on April 20. Joseph, 31, was leaving his niece's birthday party in Carenage when he was shot by a lone gunman. The URP foreman of St Ann's Street, Carenage died on his way to hospital.

The shooting took place on Crown Trace, close to Joseph's home. Police said Joseph was known to them and was suspected of being involved in criminal activity. Yesterday family members admitted that Joseph had run-ins with the law but said he was murdered because of "jealously". Around the same time of Joseph's killing, former murder accused Colin Cudjoe, 31, and Vonrick Ali, 39, were slain at Ali's Fuller Trace, River Estate home. Investigators suspect that Cudjoe and a relative of Ali's were responsible for several murders in the Patna area recently.

Police believe the killers were after Cudjoe and the relative but when they did not find Ali's family they killed him instead.
Both men were tied up and gagged before they were shot, Ali once and Cudjoe three times. Last year Cudjoe of Pelham Street, Belmont was freed on a charge of murdering Kevin Sergeant at Patna Village on December 24, 2002.
Cudjoe was freed in October, around the same time Ali was released from jail after serving a two- year drug sentence.

The explosion in murders this year and especially in Diego Martin and Laventille has been blamed on increased criminal activities in those areas. Following is a month-by-month breakdown of murders this year over 2005, up to March 26:

Month 2005 2006
January 23 38
February 27 20
March (26) 23 42
Total 73 100

Trinidad not so nice to visit
T'dad Guardian 03.03.2006

ELEVEN British nationals, here for the Carnival season, were left traumatised last weekend, after bandits stormed a private Maracas Bay home they were renting and made off with more than TT$100,000 worth of cash, clothing, jewelry and household items on Carnival Tuesday night. Gerald Mejias, owner of the house, said six of the visitors were at home when five bandits stormed the house and held the group at gunpoint around 9.30 pm on Carnival Tuesday.

Among the victims was John Hughes, a former English chief inspector of police. The other victims did not want to be identified by name, although they did agree to pose for a photo. Hughes told the Guardian that only one of the men wore a face mask. He said the other four were barefaced and seemed to range between 16 and 23 years. Hughes said they were forced to lie on the ground while the bandits ransacked the entire house. The visitors were then locked in a bedroom at the back of the house.

The bandits eventually escaped with women’s shoes and boots, credit and debit cards. Hughes said two of the women suffered slight injuries, but were more emotionally distressed. The group, he said, arrived in T&T on February 23 for Carnival. However, they are vowing never to return, despite the fact that their other experiences here and from everyone else was “warm.” Hughes said they were happy to escape with their lives, but noted the most distressing thing was that one of the bandits asked, as they were leaving:

“Do you still think Trinidad is a nice place to visit?” “Which means they must have been hiding out in the dark for quite some time. Because we did talk about how nice the country was,” he said. Mejias said the group was willing to pay a reward of TT$50,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the gang. An officer at Maracas Bay Police Station confirmed yesterday that a report was made about the robbery. Contacted yesterday, British High Commissioner Ronald Nash said the incident was unfortunate. “It’s a pity,” he said in a telephone interview.

“I mean, there were thousands of people at Maracas and Port-of-Spain, so it is extremely unfortunate. “People are always traumatised when they get robbed.” Nash said the incident had tainted an otherwise safe and peaceful Carnival. He said he intended to visit one of the victims today at St Clair Medical Centre. Nash also said he had not seen the police report. No arrests have been made yet, but the police are working on some leads. Cpl Jackson is continuing investigations. —With reporting by Innis Francis

Crime Unity....Govt, Opposition make deal on new legislation
Richard Lord, Saturday, November 19th 2005
http://www.trinidadexpress.com/index.pl/article_news?id=117354074

i think before you go after the youths need to shake down the police force frist to wee dout the good cops from bad cops....then work your way down the ladder.

they should focus on community police, target the young group 12-18. There is where the problem starts, not much could be done for the harden criminals but find and arrest them.

We are in the problems today because government did'nt focus on them 10 years or so ago.

should change the name from blimp to "blink".....one mintue you see it the next minute you don't!!!

thats why its called a 'blimp', it stays there and does nothing.

only in t'dad we can spend money on a high tech blimp to fight crime and it down for repairs ah ready

$26M blimp not working
http://www.newsday.co.tt/morenews.php?p=2#30116

:-s again !, what really going on?

here we go again another explosion in POS, this time upper Henry Street by the old Speaktaula Forum.....

http://www.i955fm.com/applicationloader.asp?app=newsarticles&cmd=view&ar...

where is the police if they exist? how come no one been arrested yet and yet they say there close to knowing the person respsonsible?

An interesting twist on crime in T'dad, the major of Sanfernando Ian atherly, suggests one of the reason that crime is high in T'dad is the girlfriends are pressuring the boyfriends toget them expesnive gifts that they can't afford ex. tickets to concert, what you think of this theory?

‘Guys stealing to take them out’
By Cori Baynes, Trinidad Guardian
Monday 24th October, 2005
http://www.guardian.co.tt/news8.html

as for my self never really thought about this theory, as for myself I would say to some extent yes to his theory plus it goes even further if they don't get what they want from one fella will goto a next fella that can.

Tough talk, zero results
Andy Johnson
Tuesday, October 18th 2005
http://www.trinidadexpress.com/index.pl/article_news?id=109157284

follow-up story
http://www.trinidadexpress.com/index.pl/article_news?id=106549496

i forget to mention the police chase de bandit but he manage to escape over some wall or river i forget the exact details.

can't remember what the news report said earlier go know later....as for gunning him don it true, the bandits not leaving till they know you dead you can run and dey still firing shots at you and when you collapse there pumping even more bullets into you to make sure you dead. bascially when the bandits find you ......no hiding and no escaping.....you pretty much dead now.

it still found him at the end, I hope granny pull out of it.

GRANNY SHOT IN HUMAN SHIELD DRAMA
Darryl Heeralal
Wednesday, October 5th 2005
http://www.trinidadexpress.com/index.pl/article_news?id=106289746

de fella real boldface to used an elderly lady as a shield from de bullets.

KILLER MONTH....September bloodiest on record-40 slain in 30 days
Darryl Heeralal
Monday, October 3rd 2005
http://www.trinidadexpress.com/index.pl/article_news?id=105808757

Scotland Yard, FBI for T&T ...to set up units to assist Police Service
Richard Lord rlord@trinidadexpress.com, Thursday, September 29th 2005
http://www.trinidadexpress.com/index.pl/article_news?id=104949563

latest statitics from de express..150 kidnappings and 273 murders for the year

you are right, the criminals are standing a clear message 'They are in Charge'. I never seen such bold crime acts in Trinidad before, like - you could be taken out from you business place in the middle of the day.

if things keep up tnt is good get the nick name of "kkb" if they don't already have one........ie "killing, kidnapping and bomb threats"

Its about attention and they are getting very desperate at the moment.

Thursday 22nd September, 2005
Bomb threats shut down more schools in south
http://www.guardian.co.tt/news11.html

getting real crazy now going after school children in school....if it is a prankster should punish de indiviudal real good for causing stress, wasting police na difre services time and distrupting school