Caption: Homeland Security Minister Roger Alexander. Photo: T&T Parliament
HOMELAND Security Minister Roger Alexander said that measures that could have a serious and immediate impact on the rising crime level in Trinidad and Tobago will be rolled out here soon.
“In the coming week, you will see what we are coming with. There are some persons who may not agree, but then it is done in order for the citizens of this country to have a better quality of life, safe and secure environment,” said Alexander on a television station on Monday.
He said the government intends to address the crime situation, especially illegal guns, “because we understand what guns, murders, shootings are doing to our country.”
Alexander said, “My responsibility as the Homeland Security Minister is to ensure that all my citizens are safe and have a comfortable life. If there are persons who cannot or bring themselves to the level where they too must understand that they live here, then we must do things to confine them or remove them from among members of the population.”
Since coming to office, following the April 28 general elections, more than 80 people have been murdered and Alexander, a former senior police officer, said the Kamla Persad-Bissessar-led government will spare no resources in the fight against crime.
“We are rolling out also that security network for schools and in the not too distant future, you will be able to see police vehicles in every junction, highway and byway.
He said the former administration would have indicated that it had been spending too much money on crime, but this administration “is sparing no resources to ensure the safety and security of our people.”
Alexander said, “What we intend to do to have that sustainable impact in the first instance is to roll out some of the ideas that we have, some we can say to the members of the public, and some we cannot.”
He said that he was meeting with a group, and following that meeting, “I will speak with the Commissioner of Police and then decide how we are going forward.”
Alexander said those persons bent on breaking the law will feel the heavy hands of law enforcement.
Earlier this month Alexander held discussions with Jamaica’s National Security Minister Dr Horace Chang, on the sidelines of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) summit held in Montego Bay, on ways to strengthen the bilateral relationship between both countries in the area of crime prevention and detection, which have had positive successes in Jamaica in recent times.
A statement from the Ministry of Homeland Security said the ministers discussed ways to ensure that the channels of communication between relevant authorities tasked with combating crime in their respective countries remain open and are nurtured. They promised to continue to share information and strategies to overcome the scourge of criminal elements in the region.
The statement said the meeting solidified the bonds of friendship between Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica and set the tone for a strengthened partnership on security matters. (CMC)
