By Sue-Ann Wayow
WITH at least four murders recorded on Tuesday, Commissioner of Police Erla Harewood-Christopher says that police will be aggressively pursuing the criminals.
“We will persist in our efforts to rid the streets of illegal firearms, the choice of weapons for criminals. In 2023 we have already seized 219 illegal firearms and 6,821 rounds of ammunition and that campaign will continue,” she said in a media release on Wednesday.
She added that she was aware of the impact of these homicides on the national psyche and that the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) was focused on implementing the strategies designed to cause a reduction in gun violence, serious crimes and murders.
Harewood-Christopher said, “Homicide detectives are on the ground working assiduously, conducting inquiries and expending all available resources to bring perpetrators to justice.”
She appealed to anyone with information on solving crimes to assist the TTPS.
Harewood-Christopher said, “Our anti-crime initiatives have been tailored to be fit for purpose to meet the challenges in the respective communities and we have been reaping some successes. And while we continue to deploy those initiatives we will be reaching deeper into communities nationwide to build relationships and foster collaborative problem solving approaches that will be effective in producing the results the country is crying out for.”
On April 29, the TTPS will also be maintaining a strategic presence in communities through its Community Justice Clinic initiative with clinics being sponsored in all 10 policing divisions.
The CoP said she was looking forward to the impact of the initiative as a means of reducing serious crimes and murders arising out of family disputes, land matters and intimate partner violence.
“This is an excellent example of the benefits that can be derived from partnerships between the police and the public, in this case private attorneys,” she said.
Strategies will be updated as the nature of crime changes, Harewood-Christopher said.
She said, “We will maintain our confidence in our ability to succeed and will not surrender in this battle against the criminal element. We assure the members of the public that the police will continue to be out front valiantly and tirelessly fighting the battle to keep all our citizens safe.
“We encourage all our stakeholders to contribute to the outcome by partnering with us, and we ask every citizen to cooperate with us, as we work together to make every place in Trinidad and Tobago safe.”
