PM Keith Rowley stands firm amid criticism over Trinidad and Tobago’s Crime Rate

Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley has expressed frustration over continued blame being apportioned to his administration for Trinidad and Tobago’s spiraling crime rate.

Speaking at a post-Cabinet media briefing at Whitehall in Port of Spain, Dr Rowley said he was tired of being blamed for the problems of crime in the country, especially when leniency is being sought for criminals.

PM Rowley said the contributing factors to the increasing crime, in particular against children, must not be spared. He decried the “monsters” committing the violence, coming with particular reference to the senseless killing of five-year-old Anika Guerra and her father, Enrico Guerra, who was gunned down in Moruga last week.

Their tragic deaths had sent shock waves of sadness across the nation, further reminding of the grim realism of crime.

“Don’t let anybody fool you, that crime is not being done based on who is in office. It’s done on the basis of whether there are benefits to be had by the perpetrators, and as fast as you stop or suppress one area, they surprise you with new ingenuity and heartlessness,” Dr Rowley said.

On the other hand, PM Rowley was most disturbed by Anika’s murder. He expressed, “For a fellow citizen to have seen a child in somebody’s hand or in somebody’s presence and deliberately discharge a firearm knowing that you’re going to kill that child, you are a different kind of devil.”

The Prime Minister made it clear that he has no sympathy for such criminals, saying his responsibility is to ensure that law enforcement agencies are active in pursuing and bringing them to justice. “Don’t give them any pass by trying to blame me because I have the responsibility to ensure those whose job it is to identify and to chase down and to bring them to justice that they are on the job,” he declared.

Dr Rowley also spoke about the deeper social issues feeding into crime, ruling out poverty as an excuse for violence. He urged the youths to seize the opportunities made available by the government with a view to uplifting them, rather than resorting to crime.

On the efforts of the Minister in the Ministry of National Security, Keith Scotland, Dr Rowley praised the hard work he put in trying to rectify the situation on the ground, in alliance with the police. In excess of 416 murders this year so far, the Prime Minister remains steadfastly behind the forces and toward stemming the nation’s crime rate.