(Trinidad Guardian) Crime in the country’s capital city has been on the increase. The issue came into sharp focus when 62-year-old Maralyn Callender-Morrison, the holder of dual citizenship for T&T and America, was robbed of $170,000 in cash on Queen Janelle Commissiong Street, Port-of-Spain, after being beaten by bandits on October 6. She had withdrawn $65,000 (TT) from a bank on Independence Square and was carrying an additional US$15,000 to repair her home in Toco. The incident was captured on camera and went viral on social media.
Hours before Callender-Morrison’s robbery, a Woman Police Constable attached to the Victim Support Unit in Tobago had a gold chain valued at $8,000 snatched from her neck while walking along Independence Square.
But what is the cost to businesses to remain open in such circumstances?
SHALIZA HASSANALI
Senior Reporter
shaliza.hassanali@guardian.co.tt
The increase in criminal activities is crippling businesses in T&T, with operators forced to spend millions of dollars on security.
Downtown Owners and Merchants Association (DOMA) alone, representing business owners from Port-of-Spain and environs, spends $10 million annually to protect their lives, earnings, goods and premises. DOMA president Gregory Aboud told the Sunday Guardian the money comes from the pockets of scores of business owners operating within the city limits.
He said he has been pleading for months for the safety and security of businesses in Port-of-Spain to be made a priority as a well-organised group of criminals operating in the capital city have been instilling fear in citizens. Known by scores of business owners and vendors, the criminals have been networking to avoid being caught by the police. Some of these criminals also use schoolchildren.
His comments came on the heels of an upsurge in brazen daylight robberies in the city which has left shoppers, vendors and business owners uneasy as they carry out their daily activities.
The business operators, who view their safety as a top priority, have been putting out their money.
Breaking down the spend on security, Aboud said a large portion of the money is expended on daytime guard services, alarm systems, alarm monitoring systems and guard response services.
“A major component of security turned out to be cash-in-transit services which is an armed courier that will come to your premises to collect sales and take it and deposit it to the bank,” he said.
Based on information received in those categories, Aboud disclosed, “It is our estimate that the annual additional cost of security in the city of Port-of-Spain is in excess of $10 million per annum. It becomes very important to understand that most of this is focused on protection of the premises of the business people and protection during the night-time hours.”
However, he said, “There is no budget in there for protection of the daytime shoppers and persons using the streets of Port-of-Spain.”
Asked if the cost to secure their businesses has become burdensome, Aboud said the overall cost of security was not only to be measured by the expenditure on security services and security measures but also as an opportunity cost.
“Many great opportunities are being lost because the grave security situation is extremely discouraging to investment and discouraging to expansion,” he added.
Aboud pointed out that the cost of security has financial and non-financial implications.
The non-financial implications, he said, are more detrimental to the future of our country in the sense of lost investments and expansions, “and lost hope”.
Security costs increase around the country
Weighing in on the issue, the president of the San Fernando Business Association Daphne Bartlett admitted the cost of private security is substantial for business operators in the southern city.
“With the increase in crime, businesses had to beef up security. They had to put in more CCTV cameras. Others have also upgraded their security cameras.”
She said some business owners have been retaining armed security guards to escort them from their businesses to their homes and vice versa.
“Many business owners are hiring security guards in their homes because they are scared of home invasions. It has now become overbearing.”
The association has a membership of 50 businesses.
Giving a rough calculation of how much the south business community spends on security each year, Bartlett said, “We average about $6 to $7 million.”
Bartlett said the Government was not doing enough to assist micro businesses.
“We are being crippled all around.”
She also pointed out that if there were regular joint army/police patrols in the city, business operators would not have to spend exorbitant fees on security.
Chairman of the Confederation of Regional Business Chambers Vivek Charran said business owners have been investing in high-definition cameras in their stores.
High-quality footage from these cameras, he said, can be used as evidence in court.
The cost to install six high-definition cameras with DVRs can be between $12,000 to $15,000. He also stated that a small businessman can fork out as much as $10,000 for a basic security officer per month.
“If you are looking for an armed security guard it would be double that cost.”
When the minimum wage of $20.50 goes into effect next January, Charran said he expects a higher security cost for business owners.
Aboud offers some solutions
With this in mind, Aboud said DOMA would be asking Finance Minister Colm Imbert consider giving them an allowance from the property tax.
“So if the Finance Minister collects $100 in property tax in Port-of-Spain, please give us back $30 or $40 out of that $100 for us to manage a security service on the streets of Port-of-Spain and relieve the police of the burden that they are facing with the number of streets they have to patrol,” he said.
He also urged the Government to allow the downtown business owners to implement a Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) concept in which a portion of taxes collected by the Government is used by stakeholders to protect themselves.
This model, Aboud said, was tried and tested and has been successful in New York and several cities in America.
He said DOMA would take control of the central business district under the BIDs system with funds raised from property tax.
“So, in essence, the business people would be paying for their own security.”
Instead of begging a businessman to contribute to a private fund, Aboud said the State has the power to collect the funds and turn them over to stakeholders to be used to protect themselves and the city of Port-of-Spain.
“We are refusing to admit defeat … we are refusing to throw in the towel … we are refusing to give up hope,” Aboud said as he called on Imbert and the Government to seriously empower them.
Insisting that criminals are taking advantage of the lawlessness that exists, Aboud said they have to make an effort to be innovative and dynamic.
On extortion
Asked if criminals have been extorting money from selected Port-of-Spain business owners, Aboud said he received two such reports a few months ago which he could not verify.
“I don’t know if they could be characterised as petty or serious based on the information that we have. The figures were not told to me. The persons involved indicated that they were threatened and would be robbed if they did not pay. We advised that no payment should be made and the matter reported to the police.”
The police, he said, intervened in the matter.
“Extortion is a very serious threat to business … that is one of the principal elements of destruction of business enterprises and nobody is prepared to deal with that,” Aboud added.
The State, he said, should have a special unit to deal with such threats.