Category Archives: Crime in T&T

Don’t Blame the Hindus or the Christians

By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
July 04, 2013

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeTwo of my dear friends are reputed to have suggested that the Hindus and the Christians may be responsible for the plight of young Africans who find themselves in trouble with the law. They also seem to suggest that a Hindu-based government is to be blamed for out plight. I should hope that this is not what they intended to convey to the public. Such statements tend to inflame national feelings and deepen the national divide. I am a member of the PNM and count myself to be as conscious of my blackness as anyone else. However, I think we ought to be careful about what we say.
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Rowley: Plot to cover up section 34

Plot to cover up section 34

By Gail Alexander
May 21, 2013 – guardian.co.tt

Dr. Keith RowleyOpposition leader Dr Keith Rowley wants the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and the Integrity Commission to probe e-mails purportedly bearing the names of frontline government officials who allegedly wanted to tap the DPP’s phone after the Section 34 furore. Rowley also claimed the e-mails revealed moves to shift the DPP to the judiciary and further discussed intended intimidation of a T&T Guardian reporter who broke the Section 34 story last September.
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Driver in accident may walk as Sea Lots probe botched

By Dr Sheila Rampersad
April 11, 2013 – www.guardian.co.tt

PoliceWhat might have been an open-and-shut case against a police officer, who ploughed into six residents of Sea Lots along the Beetham Highway, Port-of-Spain, on February 24, has turned into a lengthy and muddled investigation. Three people died and three others were injured in the crash, which occurred along the westbound lane of the highway.

The T&T Guardian was reliably informed that a breathalyser test, which measures blood alcohol level, was administered at 2.47 pm on the day of the fatal collision, almost six hours after the incident. It was administered at the Port-of-Spain General Hospital by WPC Marcia Lopez, a trained breath analysis technician assigned to Besson Street Police Station.
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Only 3 per cent of cops corrupt

By Susan Mohammed – March 26, 2013
www.trinidadexpress.com/news/Only-3-per–cent-of-cops–corrupt-200151191.html

PoliceActing Police Commissioner Stephen Williams said yesterday that no more than three per cent of the officers in the Police Service were crooked.

Speaking following a tour of the San Fernando Police Station where officers had protested poor working conditions, Williams responded to the Selwyn Ryan report which indicated that as much as 50 per cent of the Police Service was corrupt.

On Monday, Williams told reporters the figure used by Ryan was “crazy”.
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Ryan crime report: Soca music breeding criminals

Selwyn Ryan – March 26, 2013
www.guardian.co.tt/news/2013-03-25/ryan-crime-report-soca-music-breeding-criminals

Selwyn RyanSoca, dancehall and hip-hop music are said to be influencing youths into criminal behaviour. This is according to a report by the Ryan Committee on Youth at Risk. The report was laid in Parliament by Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar on Friday. The committee’s report said while it was impossible to draw a definitive correlation between violence or explicitness of lyrics and the level of criminality among youth, the lyrics of 2012 soca hits “tend to support the idea of a contemporary youth culture that is very consistent with the rebellious behaviour of previous generations of youth.”
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Ryan report on Laventille crime: Dagger aimed at POS’ belly

By Richard Lord – March 23, 2013
www.guardian.co.tt/news/2013-03-23/ryan-report-laventille-crime-dagger-aimed-pos-belly

Selwyn RyanGovernment is being warned to do “whatever is necessary” to silence the guns in the hands of the criminal element in Laventille. If those carrying the guns are allowed to run rampant, they could eventually train those guns on the capital city itself.
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Don’t demonise soldiers

By Raffique Shah
March 23, 2013

Raffique ShahTHE purpose of the Defence (Amendment) Bill 2013 is to add soldier-power to Government’s crime-fighting initiatives, although if you read the one-clause legislation you would think otherwise. The bill simply speaks of extending to soldiers engaged in assisting the police in maintaining law and order “the same powers, authorities, privileges and immunities as are given by law to members of the Police Service”.
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Wanted bigger guns for city cops

By Sean Douglas – March 23 2013
newsday.co.tt

Louis Lee SingPORT-OF-SPAIN Mayor Louis Lee Sing yesterday called for bigger guns to be given to his municipal police force to deter criminals who harass his contractors when they work in the city’s criminal “hot-spots”.

Addressing a Joint Select Committee (JSC) hearing at Tower D, International Waterfront Centre in Port-of-Spain, Lee Sing said criminals are undeterred and unafraid when confronted by city police officers armed with handguns including the Beretta brand.
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Machel Montano Performed in Miami After All

Machel MontanoFrom the article below (the bottom of the first page and continuing onto the second page), it appears that Machel Montano did perform at the “Nine Mile Music Festival 2013” which was held in Florida, Miami on March 02, 2013. There were concerns that his U.S. visa would have been revoked following his conviction last year for assaulting four persons in 2007 outside Zen night club in Port-of-Spain and for using obscene language. Montano was fined on February 25, 2013.
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Did Nicki Minaj Sell T&T Short on American Idol?

Nicki MinajCommenting after Zoanette Johnson’s rendition of “Circle of Life”, Nicki Minaj said:

“I’m proud that this place right here gives people like you and me, that came from absolutely nothing, from a country that we didn’t probably think we’d make it out alive, it gives us a shot. Thank you, Thank you. …”

Listen to Nicki Minaj after 5:17 on the video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?&v=SxoW_oXs2jw
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