Police commissioner disappointed at high murder toll in Trinidad and Tobago

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – Police Commissioner Erla Harewood-Christopher says the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) is “disappointed” that, despite all its efforts, the number of murders in the country has surpassed the 600-mark.

Last year, the country recorded 577 murders, and with seven days remaining before the end of this year, the figure is certain to rise.

Among the latest murders, now totalling 602, is that of Stacy Gopaulsingh, 36, who was stabbed to death at her home in Moruga in central south Trinidad early on Monday.

The judicial support officer, who is said to have been three months pregnant, was killed while her common-law husband, 42, grabbed their three-year-old daughter and escaped by jumping out of a window.

The Trinidad South District Court employee's body was found with multiple chop wounds in the living room.

The laptop she used for work, a brown envelope containing TT$40,000 and US$800, and the wedding bands were missing.

“We have done a significantly large amount of good work,” Harewood-Christopher said in a statement, adding that the criminal element in Trinidad and Tobago “persists and continues to create opportunities for violent crimes to be committed.

“They have become more brazen and indiscriminate in their desperate attempts to maintain their criminal enterprises.”

The top cop stated that this will remain a challenge “until such time that we succeed in diverting the minds of the criminal elements in our society, especially our young men, from the commission of violent crimes to more productive activities.”

“We will do well to recognise that homicides are not just a TTPS issue, but a national issue, and there is therefore a role for every citizen in our endeavour to reduce this statistic. Let's develop the courage and the confidence to do what is required.”

Harewood-Christopher said the country must become “more deliberate about the type of society we want and work resolutely, collectively, and purposefully to achieve that result.

“We simply cannot continue to condone criminal activities or allow ourselves to be intimidated by the criminal elements.

“The TTPS will continue to exert itself to the fullest extent to do what is required to deliver effective law enforcement to the deserving citizenry. We give our unwavering commitment in that regard,” Harewood-Christopher said.

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