Murder rate falls by 118 under UNC Government, says PM Persad-Bissessar

Trinidad & Tobago: Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar said ‘The data is clear’, while pointing towards police statistics which show a decline in murders under her administration. 

In a statement posted on Tuesday, July 21 on the Prime Minister’s social media, she wrote that 213 murders were recorded between January 1 and July 20, 2026, compared to 331 murders during the same time period in 2024, when the People’s National Movement (PNM) was in office.

She said that the data demonstrates the effectiveness of the Government’s crime-fighting measures and the State of Emergency (SoE).

PM Persad-Bissessar said that the analysis shows that under United National Congress (UNC), there were approximately 400 fewer murders during 2025 and 2026 combined than projected based on the murder rates recorded during the PNM administration in 2023 and 2024.

She argued that if PNM had remained in office, there would have been about 400 more murder victims, based on the murder rates recorded during its administration.

The PM further highlighted that murders have declined in every police division between 2024 and 2026 and the largest reductions are recorded in the Port-of-Spain, Western and Northern Divisions.

She noted that among those divisions several constituencies traditionally regarded as PNM strongholds are also included.

PM Persad-Bissessar responded to the criticism from Opposition MPs and said that the data contradicts the claims that the government’s approach to crime has been ineffective.

She credited the Trinidad & Tobago Police Service and the measures implemented under the State of Emergency for the reported reduction in murders.

She said that the statistics indicate that both the government and the Trinidad & Tobago Police Service were making positive progress under the SoE for the benefit of citizens.