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alexk
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National Security Minister Edmund Dillon has promised not to surrender to criminal elements who have been waging an all-out war against law-abiding citizens.
Dillon gave the commitment at the launch of the National Crime Preventative Programme (NCPP) at the Hilton Trinidad, Port-of-Spain, yesterday.
However, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley, who was listed to deliver the feature address and unveil the NCPP logo, did not attend. Elements of the NCPP were first mentioned by Rowley at a PNM convention in 2016 and again in the 2018 budget presentation last October.
Yesterday, Dillon said he was aware of the challenges society faces as a result of crime.
“Crime affects all of us. There is no doubt about that. It saddens me deeply to hear the loss of life increasingly through the acts of violence, especially with the use of weapons and ammunition.”
He said crime was being perpetrated by a small group of criminals who have been “spreading fear and discord in our beloved country.”
He reiterated the call to all law-abiding citizens, police officers and the Government to unite to reclaim T&T from those who are supportive of criminality and lawlessness.
“The time has come for all of us to put all differences of opinion aside and work together as one cohesive unit to let the criminal elements know in society that they will never get the upper hand on us. We will never surrender. As a matter of fact, failure should never be an option.”
The NCPP, Dillon said, was anchored in Government’s 2030 National Security Strategic Plan and will address the root causes of crime and criminality and make communities more resilient.
The programme will be implemented on a phased basis and 15 community crime prevention councils, representing 14 regional corporations and the Tobago House of Assembly (THA), will interface directly with communities to determine their needs and respond appropriately. The programme will first be implemented in the Diego Martin and Chaguanas corporations and the THA before being rolled out in the other 12 corporations.
“I guarantee once we put our necks to the grind or foot to the peddle we will see some results in the future,” Dillon said.
“The NCPP heralds the beginning of a new era of development and stability for our people and our country, by promoting and facilitating good order as well as transparent and accountable governance. Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much.”
Among the measures implemented, Dillon said, was the strengthening of the T&T Police Service, Strategic Services Agency, Defence Force Intelligence Unit and T&T Prisons Intelligence Unit.
“Yes, the T&T Prisons Intelligence Unit, because we believe and we have found the prisons provide a great deal of intelligence. So we have established a Prisons Intelligence Unit. The prison provides an area of intelligence which we would not normally have.”