PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad – Prime Minister Kamla Persad Bissessar has warned people bent on living a life of crime that her administration is prepared to “take them out in one way or the other”.
Persad Bissessar, whose administration has imposed a nationwide state of emergency in Trinidad and Tobago, said that while the government was aware of its obligations to provide opportunities for people to improve themselves it was also “equally committed to taking the strongest action against those that refuse to follow that path and contribute to society in the way every law abiding citizen does.
“Make no mistake about it, this government will remove lawlessness at every level from this society. It is time to bring discipline back, to revive traditional values and to instill even insist on respect for rules and regulations, law and order. There is no room for compromise on this,” she said at the launch the Clifton Street Towers housing project today.
The Prime Minister acknowledged that the area was one of the many “hot spots” where an eight hour curfew has been introduced as part of the measures under the state of emergency, but noted that it was important for “impoverished communities to regain a sense of pride, for families to feel a sense of belonging to a future that is positive, to bring a sense of hope and self belief back to people”.
She said that the project was being launched “in the midst of our aggressive strategy on crime across the country” and that it is part of her administration’s plan to adopt a balanced approach understanding that “the issue of crime is a complex one which has to be addressed in new innovative ways and through practical solutions across a range of well thought out programmes and policies”.
“So when you see images of bandits being apprehended, of joint services in full pursuit of gang leaders and drug lords, know that there is another picture emerging behind those scenes of the long term solutions and caring approaches to solving some of the things in some of the places that cause crime to be produced in the first place”.
The Prime Minister said she was “painfully aware of the fact that when someone has nothing to lose they are unconcerned even for themselves; their own lives become meaningless and in the process the lives of those around them become of little value as well.
“So in that sense, one cannot just attempt to remove the criminals without acknowledging the need to create initiatives that will turn around the very circumstances that have become a spawning ground for criminal activity.
“But I also understand that for some, the long arm of the law is our best course of action. And for those bent on remaining in a life of criminality we will take them out in one way or the other.”
The Prime Minister said official crime figures over the past 24 hours show that 147 arrests had been made, including 75 gang members and eight for homicides.
“This brings it to a total of 462 arrests of which 90 are for outstanding warrants and 190 are gang related. That just gives you a perspective of the level of success within just a few days. Nothing of the sort ever occurs on the best of crime fighting days usually. (CMC)
