Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley urged families to crack down on relatives engaged in criminal activities as Trinidad and Tobago law enforcement authorities seek to stem the rise in murders here.
Speaking at the sod-turning ceremony for a housing project in El Dorado, east of here, Rowley also criticized the justice system in the country.
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He told the audience that those relatives were engaging in criminal conduct with the use of firearms.
“You keep that as a secret to yourself and only when the firearm is discharged and kill somebody, you react and call upon the police and the government to do something.”
Over the weekend at least 12 people were shot and killed at various locations, including five people who were murdered when gunmen fired indiscriminately at a housing development just on the outskirts of the capital. A police officer was among those killed during that incident on Saturday.
Rowley told the audience that while there would be the burial of the dead, families could do something to prevent such tragedies.
“That is if you know who it is, then for God sake tell the people what they have, where they are and something could be done.
“Up until recently, people with such criminal intent had access only to hand guns which they could conceal on their person. Today, most of the killings in this country are done by people carrying assault weapons and it is very difficult to handle and move around with an assault weapon without somebody seeing you and somebody knowing you.”
Rowley said there are too many people in Trinidad and Tobago “who know who the killers are, who know who the criminals are and who are turning a blind eye to it and worse, who are encouraging it.
“We have difficulties with the police, yes, we know, we have difficulties with the Coast Guard, yes we know … but we are constantly available to respond to the criminal element once the information about the presence and intent are known to the state authorities.
“Many of these people live in homes. A person cannot be handling an assault weapon in your household and you don’t know. And if you are the mother, the father, the neighbor, the cousin, the friend and you know, then you are part of the problem if you provide them with the secrecy that they need…”.
So far this year, there have been more than 115 murders. Last year, the island recorded 576 murders. CMC
