(Trinidad Express) “You touch one, you touch all of us and we are not going to accept the criminal element targeting any of our law enforcement.”
This was declared by National Security Minister Stuart Young following an emergency meeting of law enforcement heads at the Ministry’s Port of Spain office yesterday to discuss the murder of Superintendent of Prisons Wayne Jackson, who was shot and killed at his home in Malabar on Tuesday night.
Also killed on Tuesday were three other people: Shivan Ramdhanie, who was shot dead at a bar in Debe; Clifton Jeffrey, who was shot dead at his home in Rio Claro; and farmer LalBeharie Ramoutar, who was chopped to death in his garden.
Young said Jackson’s murder has highlighted that the scourge of criminality continues to act with a level of impunity.
Jackson, he said, was promoted to Acting Senior Superintendent in February this year and was “stomping his foot” on the criminal elements within the prison walls.Young said he visited the maximum prison a few weeks ago and he met Jackson as he accompanied him on the tour. Young assured the country that coming from the emergency meeting with the law enforcement heads is a renewed commitment to tackling the situation as “one force” and to ensure there is a “sustainable reaction” going forward.
The Minister said that an inter-agency taskforce will work along with the prison service in the investigations.
He also promised that in January legislation will be brought to the Parliament to increase the punishment for the murder or injury of injure law enforcement officers.
Young added that there will also be an increase in the punishment meted out to corrupt officers caught trafficking guns and drugs.
He also spoke about beefing up CCTV coverage in the prisons.
Questioned on the spate of murders between Monday and Tuesday, Young said the country is under a crime scourge but the police are at work.
Said Young, “there is no doubt that Trinidad and Tobago right now is fighting a scourge of crime, I have to say, and I’ve been very cautious. I haven’t said it before, that there has actually been a reduction in the number of homicides within the past couple of months.”
He said this is not something they are celebrating as they continue to utilise technology available in treating with every homicide.