The Trinidad and Tobago government yesterday acknowledged that the level of crime in the country is unacceptable as it paid tribute to a 32-year-old prison officer gunned down outside his home on Monday.

Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley said in a statement that prison officer Fitzalbert Victor Jr was brutally gunned down.

He also said it cannot be overstated the importance of the work done by the men and women of the security forces who put their lives on the line and stand in defense of law and order.

The Prison Officers Association on Monday accused the state and the judiciary for the murder of the prison officer.

The police said the murder was a hit called by someone in prison.

POA general secretary Gerald Gordon said inmates at the Remand Yard section of the prison were frustrated by the delay in having their cases heard.

He told reporters that prisoners awaiting trial can wait for as long as six years in jail before getting a trial date.