Trinidad and Tobago's national security minister admits that the country is losing the war against criminals.Speaking with reporters Thursday Martin Joseph described the country as being “between a rock and a hard place” in crime fighting. He said despite various anti-crime measures in recent years, crime keeps getting worse. But he offered no new ideas or solutions to the problem.
He said 258 people have now been killed since the start of the year, 21 more than in the corresponding period last year. In 2007 the homicide figure was 130 for the same period.
By comparison, New York City with a population of 10 times that of Trinidad and Tobago, recorded 162 murders over the same period. Also the city's total for last year was 521, lower than the Trinidad and Tobago figure.
The minister said in some parts of the country, including Tobago, the number of murders has increased by 100 per cent, with gang-related killings topping the homicide statistics at 112 for the year so far.
As part of his attempt to find solutions to the crime problem Joseph said the government plans to introduce an omnibus crime bill that would aim to reduce the f low of guns and the number of gangs in the country.
Critics say Joseph has not offered any hope for a nation living in fear. They say he has failed in his duty to protect citizens and appears to have no solutions to the escalating crime problem.
Last year, Prime Minister Patrick Manning admitted that crime was one of the most serious problems facing the country, saying his government understands that crime is not an easy problem to fix.
He said there is "no overnight solution" and promised to "try until we get it right."
When Joseph all but admitted failure last year, Manning rebuked him, saying it was just that some initiatives had not worked. Among them was a "guns for God" initiative that offered a gun amnesty for gang members who gave up their weapons and turned to God.
Joseph's mantra has been that new initiatives are coming and they will work.
An article in circulating in the Internet recently dubbed Trinidad & Tobago the murder capital of the Caribbean and one of the most violent places on the planet.
The article said, "Assaults, robbery, kidnapping and rape in Trinidad and Tobago is also among the highest in the world," and pointed out a warning from the U.S. State Department that gang-related homicides and other crimes will continue to increase in Trinidad and Tobago in 2009 and 2010.
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