2 weeks Ago
At a news conference on Monday, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Junior Benjamin provided some comparative crime statistics for 2025 and the corresponding period in 2024. The senior cop, who has been nominated to fill the post of acting police commissioner today, said: “When we continue to look at these statistics, it tells us that the hard work of the officers continues to pay off.” We beg to differ.
Benjamin reported 27 woundings and shootings for the year so far compared to 65 for the same period in 2024. That’s a 58% drop. He said property crimes had dropped by 37% and 32 sexual offences had been reported compared to 99 last year—a 67% drop.
And there were eight kidnappings in January compared to 11 for the same month in 2024. While these reductions might be laudable in normal times, they are disappointing for a state of emergency (SoE). Crimes like burglary and sexual offences are always under-reported, while the difference in kidnappings is negligible.
Moreover, people’s reluctance to go to the police would, if anything, be greater during an SoE. So Benjamin’s figures are not reliable; but, even if accurate, they do not reflect the decline expected during an SoE. This is especially so with the most statistically reliable and serious crime of all—murder.
Benjamin revealed that 32 murders have been committed for the year so far, compared to 46 in the same period in 2024. That’s a mere 30% drop. In the first 15 days of the SoE, the homicide rate had declined by 44%, which was a fairly good outcome in that short time.
But, hard work or not, police officers have obviously been unable to maintain the initial reduction. Even if law enforcement could keep the homicide rate at its present level for the rest of 2025, comparative figures from Statista for 2023 show T&T would still rank as the 12th most murderous country in the world. In that year, with 577 murders, this country placed sixth.
What makes the situation more worrisome is that although murders have dropped, police killings have risen drastically. For January this year, nine people have been killed in confrontations with officers. That’s three times higher than the monthly average, according to figures from the Police Complaints Authority (PCA).
And, as usual, no body camera footage exists to prove the police had good cause to draw their weapons. In an SoE, when officers are not bound by even standard legal constraints, citizens may rightfully become uneasy about how the police are exercising their additional powers. And, with the ongoing furore in the TTPS, lack of public confidence can only worsen.
DCP Benjamin admitted the present murder rate is still too high and promised to introduce “more robust strategies” to reduce homicides even more. He has also revealed that he has operational responsibility for the SoE. The buck thus stops with him and, so far, it is not paying enough dividends to justify the suspension of citizens’ rights.
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