(Trinidad Guardian) With both Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley and National Security Minister Edmund Dillon upping the pressure on the police service to bring rising crime, in particular murders, under control over the last 24 hours, the T&T Guardian yesterday posed several questions to the divisional heads on the issue.
Several of them said while there appeared to be an increase in crime, they were doing their best with the resources they had and were getting good results.
Following are the comments of eight of the nine division heads we managed to interview yesterday.
Senior Supt, Southern Division —
Adeline St Louis-Pesnell
What are you doing to reduce crime in your division?
“I am tackling crime using a two-fold approach. What is really on the frontburner right now is having static patrols and a visible police presence by Task Force and CID officers. We also have intelligence teams on the ground who gather additional evidence and we use this to reduce crime. I plan to regain the trust of the citizens and members of the community in the Southern Division. Police officers cannot resolve crime on our own. Without the real assistance of the members of the community we will find ourselves in a bind. We have to engage the community and I am doing so particularly in La Romaine. My predecessor was focusing on Marabella. We are relaunching the La Romaine Police Youth Club, which was dormant for a year.
What is the current crime detection rate in your division?
Our detection rate in this division is 34 per cent. It is not the highest but we have a good rate. The national mandate was 22 per cent but we are not limiting ourselves.
What is your target for crime detection by year-end?
We will be very happy for a 50 per cent solve rate but I am not going to put a time frame. I am not going to put that 50 per cent bar because we could achieve more than that. That is why we will do whatever it takes to increase the solve rate as much as I can. I am meeting all the officers on the ground and I am trying to get them to buy in with what we are doing so everyone will be in sync with our goals and objectives.
How are you motivating staff?
I understand the plight of officers. They have their issues but I will meet and engage them. If I can assist an officer I will do so, but if an officer is delinquent then I will deal with that differently. My thing is to reach out to the officers. I have told them that the Commissioner of Police has an incentive programme where divisions are rewarded. For example, a reward is given to the division that retrieves the most guns off the streets. My goal is to mirror that so every station district will increase their performance and be rewarded.
Are you focusing on crime hotspots?
Yes but we have to also look at all regions. This division has ten stations and one post in St Mary’s. We hold regular meetings with all the community councils of the various districts and decide how we going to address the issues. We are also going around to the schools to find the children who are suspended. We don’t leave them unsupervised.
What are some of the challenges you face?
A challenge is to get some of the parents and the public to cooperate with us. I have asked my office staff to give me an extra four hours on Saturday and Sunday. I am there with my officers on the ground to meet with people. When 4.30 pm reaches, I don’t lock up my door and leave to go home, I remain on the ground with my team to implement our strategies.
Sr Supt, South Western Division— Inraj Balram
What are you doing to reduce crime in your division?
In my division, which has the highest crime detection rate in the country, I am using research, data and technology to fight crime. I am also ensuring that there are adequate patrols out on the street.
Based on our research we are able to say what time of the year has the most crime and what areas within the district has the highest levels of crime. We have a special team set up in the division to compile data and do intelligence gathering along with the Crime and Problem Analysis Unit. We keep in touch with known criminals and monitor their activities. Knowing a lot about these priority offenders keeps the crime rate down. We also have a database with retired police and soldiers, who we use effectively to help us with reducing crime. Our officers live in the division so they police their own communities. We also treat our informants with respect and courtesy.
What is the current crime detection rate in your division?
Our detection rate is over 40 per cent—the best in the country.
What is your target for crime detection by year-end?
I am hoping to reach 50 per cent by year-end. Right now we looking into the cold cases and solvability factors.
What are some of the challenges you face?
I am not focusing on challenges or manpower shortages. I focus on the resources we have and how we can use our staff and technology effectively to fight crime. We partner with the community and we get the youths on our side through successful police youth clubs. The Victim Support Unit works with the community. I don’t have a problem with staff motivation. We have excellent social networking in this division. Just yesterday we had a little lime by the river. We have sports days. I am only here for two weeks but I plan to put other things in place to motivate my staff.
Are you focusing on crime hotspots?
Our focus is the entire division.
Ag. Sr Supt, Eastern Division
—John Trim
What are you doing to reduce crime in your division?
We have an active community policing unit in the Eastern Division. There are police youth clubs in each of the nine station districts, where we conduct programmes to motivate young people to become productive citizens and to stay away from crime.
We have introduced a programme to help young people who are suspended from school for disciplinary infractions. It is called Brooklyn House. We take in the students and assist them with their school work so that they do not remain idle at home. The programme started in 2012 and is a vital part of the efforts in the Eastern Division to reduce crime. The Commissioner of Police believes it could become a model programme for other communities.
We also have another programme which goes by the acronym CITY- Caring Intervention for Troubled Youths, and we conduct town meetings every month in different areas of the region. We get feedback from the communities on what we are doing wrong or right, what they want us to improve and what areas we need to concentrate attention on.
Station heads within the division also hold regular meetings with stakeholders to discuss not just crime, but social issues and we invite WASA, T&TEC and other agencies to attend to help address problems raised.
What is the current crime detection rate in your division?
Our crime detection rate is 42 per cent, the highest in any division. For the last two years we have won the commissioner’s award for the highest detection rate.
In 2014 and 2015 our detection rate was 50 per cent and in 2016 at 42 per cent, we are still the highest.
We have had 26 murders so far for the year, we have already solved four of these and charged persons; they are now before the courts. Four other persons are expected to be charged soon.
We have recovered 31 illegal firearms for the year so far, that is six more than the 25 seized in the same period last year.
What is your target for crime detection by year-end?
While 42 is the highest I am still not satisfied, I want to surpass the last two years when we had a 50 per cent detection rate. I want to get at over 50 per cent by year’s end.
How are you motivating staff?
One of the basic things is praising staff for good work and continuing to encourage them to perform at a high level.
We excel in the total number of arrests we make each year for all categories of crime. The officers feel motivated by the excellent work which we do.
Are you focusing on crime hotspots?
We have been running hotspot patrols in areas identified as hotspots. These include Mayaro, Rio Claro, Valencia and Sangre Grande. These are the four station districts which are the busiest in the Eastern Division.
The five other areas which fall under the division hardly have any crime at all. These include Toco, Matelot, and Biche where we get small crimes, including robberies and house break-ins.
What are the challenges you face?
This division has the longest stretch of coastline. The Eastern Division comprises one third of the land mass of Trinidad, from Matelot to Guayaguayare to Rio Claro. It is a challenge because we have the widest stretch of sea coast to manage, Matelot, Toco, Matura, Manzanilla, Guayaguayare, the whole eastern sea coast.
We have implemented coastal patrols, but on land, because we cannot do marine. We do daily patrols of the coastline to stop the entry of illegal arms, ammunition and drugs in the country. But to make it effective we need the assistance of other agencies to assist in managing the coast. A marine patrol is vital to seal off the borders.
Ag Senior Supt, Port-of-Spain Division – Mc Donald Jacob
What are you doing to reduce crime in your division?
Port-of-Spain was on the radar for the high incidence of crime but there is now a 30 per cent decline in murders and a 55 per cent reduction in shootings and woundings compared to last year. We have seen a significant decrease in violent crimes in the area.
When I came into the division I used the Crime and Problem Analysis branch of the Police Service to identify the crime trends and patterns within the division. We used Prince and Charlotte Streets as the epicentre, because 67 per cent of the crimes occur in that radius. We identified the offenders, we began a clinical way of doing patrols. We implemented the plan in March after Carnival and there has been a tremendous reduction in break-ins and larceny.
On the periphery the police and Defence Force are working together to patrol the area, including George and Nelson Streets. Besson Street police also play a key role. It was done on the basis of clinical analysis.
We have patrols by the army and police (the IAFT) in Laventille, Beetham, Sea Lots and we revived the foot patrols.
The work done by the IATF, the Port-of-Spain Task Force and the Defence Force has helped a lot to reduce crime. For the year so far, six people have been charged for murder and two have been charged with the shooting of a police officer in Sea Lots. Boombay, a gang leader, is in prison. It is a combination of things that has helped with crime reduction in the city.
When the commissioner appointed me, he said he was putting a criminologist in charge of the division. At one time this was the most challenging division. We work together with the mayor’s office and businesses on Ariapita Avenue as a team to deal with unlawful activity. It is a partnership. It is working well.
What is the current detection rate in your division?
For serious crimes it is 16 per cent. It may sound like a little bit but the trend of detection in Port-of-Spain has been between ten and 11 per cent. The last time it reached 15 per cent was ten years ago.
For minor crimes, such as possession of firearms, ammunition, possession of cocaine and marijuana and malicious wounding, the detection rate is 60 per cent. Our detection is weak when it comes to night patrols.
What is your target for crime detection by year-end?
To reduce murders by five per cent by the end of the year. This is the mandate from the commissioner. If we had 80 murders last year it has to be reduced by five per cent of that figure by the end of the year. We are at a 25 per cent reduction so we are above the requirement.
If the commissioner set a goal of five per cent, I tell my men we need to reduce by 15 per cent. We have not reached the target for recovery of firearms. Last year it was 48, by now we should be 55, I hope to improve that.
