50% Increase in Murders Under PNM

‘We have gone from red and ready to dead and bloody’ – Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar.

UNDER the leadership of Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley, the murder count crosses 4,000 in more than seven years.

This is enough to fill 160 large maxi taxis to cause a major traffic jam if lined up on the road says Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar.

Speaking at a joint political meeting on Monday night, the first with the Independent Liberal Party (ILP) and the National Transformation Alliance (NTA), Persad-Bissessar once again condemned the government for their crime fighting measures or lack of.

Statistics show that under the People’s Partnership from 2010 to 2015, there were 1,548 murders compare to 3,456 from 2016 to 2022 under the People’s National Movement regime.

She said, “The country has gone from read and ready to dead and bloody. The PNM has come out and clearly stated that as long as they remain in Government they will not support you defending your family.”

Persad-Bissessar told the crowd that the PNM would rather choose one man – Minister of National Security Fitzgerald Hinds – over the safety and security of citizens.

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“They don’t want to protect you, but they also don’t want you to protect yourself. We have proposed Stand Your Ground law, but the PNM is saying as long as they are there, they will not support Stand Your Ground. Tonight I say well go, just go, go!” she said.

With 325 murders already committed for 2023, and according to Persad-Bissessar statistics, 1,600 under Hinds as national security minister, it was high time to give law abiding citizens the right to defend themselves by making the process of acquiring legal firearms easier.

Explaining the maxi-taxi concept to supporters, Persad-Bissessar said, “Now, many of you would have travelled in a maxi-taxi. You know they have the big maxi, 25 people in a big maxi. If you watch that and picture it, visually, that 4,000 persons murdered under the Rowley government, if you put all of them in a maxi,  it will take 160 maxi loads of people who have been murdered under Rowley and if you line up those 160 maxis you know what you gonna get, a massive traffic jam. Yet they will do nothing. Think about it.  That will be over a mile long.”

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According to statistics on the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) website, the murder rate since the People’s National Movement (PNM) came into office has been increasing every year from 2015 with the exception of 2020 when there was a decrease.

The PNM won the general election on  September 7, 2015.

From September 2015 to December 2015, there were 141 murders.

The murder rate for the period 2016 to 2022 are as follows:

This is a total of 3,456. That figure added to the 141 from 2015 plus 325 for 2023 gives a total of 3,922 murders committed since September 2015.

Murder statistics under the People’s Partnership Government led by Persad-Bissessar were:

This is a total of 1,548.

The People’s Partnership Government won the election in May 2010.

The stats for 2010 were 485 and 279 from January 2015 to August 2015.

Information taken from the TTPS online portal which offers data from 2013 and T&T Crime Statistics website.

This means that the murder statistics alone increased 50% under the PNM administration when compared to the People’s Partnership administration.