(Trinidad Express) Attorney General Stuart Young said a public state of emergency (SoE) was declared due to the threat to national security posed by reprisal killings and the use of high-powered weapons.
However, he assured that the nation’s economy would not be impacted as there would be no curfew and business would continue.
At a news conference, Young explained that the SoE was declared based on information provided to them by the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS). He noted that there were elements they could not divulge details about.
Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley, head of the National Security Council, was absent at the press conference. He later explained that his brother had passed away.
Young disclosed, “This calling of the State of Emergency was based on information regarding threats provided to us, the National Security Council, about retaliation by the criminal element, and because of the use of certain types of weapons. We are seeing brazen behaviour by these criminal elements in the use of illegal firearms, which necessitated the calling of this public state of emergency.”
He further stated that the information provided indicated “very clearly a continued level of planning and execution by the criminal element utilising these illegal firearms.”
Young noted that there had been 61 homicides in December, with approximately 623 for the year to date. He expressed concern about the high-calibre weapons being used in murders, including the 5.56, 7.62, AR-15, and AK-47 rifles.
Young highlighted two recent incidents:
On Saturday, just after 3 pm, outside the Besson Street police station, a person was shot dead with a high-powered weapon. Within 24 hours, there was an incident in Laventille where six people were targeted and shot, five of whom were killed.
He said intelligence and information provided by the TTPS indicated that this was a reprisal shooting and that there could be heightened reprisal activity in and around Trinidad and Tobago.
Young said, “In a nutshell, what the country is facing is a decision based on information about criminal activity—specifically the use of high-powered and high-calibre weapons.”
He explained that innocent people would be affected because of this, and therefore the National Security Council had taken the decision to call on the President to declare a State of Emergency.
The Minister stated that the public state of emergency would specifically target criminals who use illegal, high-velocity firearms.
He noted that, unlike the SoEs in 1990 and 2011, this SoE would not involve a curfew or affect public meetings.
This SoE is specifically aimed at addressing the “brazen acts” of criminality, he said.
Young added that, under this SoE, the TTPS would have the authority to search premises and individuals without warrants, as well as detain people for specified periods.
He explained that the police could detain individuals for a 48-hour holding period, after which a senior magistrate could extend the detention for seven days for the gathering of further information.
There would also be the power to stop and search anyone, he stated.
Young said the Defence Force would be on standby to assist the TTPS and would have powers under the SoE.
He also mentioned that a tribunal would be established.
The Minister said the regulations which provide further details of the SoE will be released later today.
National Security Minister Fitzgerald Hinds reminded the public of Prime Minister Rowley’s statement issued last Thursday just before midnight, in which he called on all citizens to step up in the fight against crime.
Hinds noted the recent fatal shooting of five people that took place overnight in Laventille.
He said this escalation in murders over the last 48 hours follows 15 homicides during the four days that preceded it from Monday 23, December to Thursday 26, December 2024.
“The police are interpreting all of this as a virtual outbreak of gang violence affecting and traumatising the entire society,” he said.
