Pubdate: Mon, 02 Jan 2006 Source: Jamaica Observer (Jamaica) Copyright: 2006 The Jamaica Observer Ltd, Contact: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1127 T'DAD PM LAMENTS CRIME WAVE PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad - Faced with a spiralling problem of murder and kidnappings, Trinidad and Tobago's prime minister, Patrick Manning, said yesterday that curbing crime was his government's biggest challenge and said that the elimination of poverty and under-development would be critical to its solution. Trinidad and Tobago, the only significant oil and gas producer in the Caribbean Community, is among the richest member-state of Caricom, a grouping of regional territories, which yesterday launched a single market as part of a move towards a seamless regional economy. But in recent years, Trinidad and Tobago has been plagued by a wave of murder and kidnappings for ransom. Murders reached a record 389 last year, while there were 60 kidnappings - about double the number for 2004. While its murder rate of about 39 per 100,000 places it, in per capita terms, a little over a third lower than Jamaica's, Trinidadians are concerned about a crime problem similar in scope to this country and Manning and his People's National Movement (PNM) administration has been under pressure to find solutions. There were more than 1,600 homicides in Jamaica in 2005. In his New Year's speech to the country yesterday, Manning conceded the problem and largely blamed the narcotics trade for the surge of killings. "The drug trade and its turf wars have pushed the murder rate to a very high level," Manning said in the speech, which aired on television and radio. "We continue to be faced with the problem of kidnapping by some evil predators in our midst." Manning said government was taking steps to deal with crime, including improving law enforcement efficiency. "Our fight against crime also involves the pursuit of a social agenda that seeks to eliminate poverty and underdevelopment," he said. Earlier in the decade the Trinidadians hired former Jamaican police chief, Col Trevor MacMillan - recently named by the Jamaica Labour Party to plan the Opposition's anti-crime programme to be implemented should the party come to power in the next election - to a task force to come up with plans for a reform of the country's police force and other anti-crime initiatives. But it was not clear how much of that group's programme was implemented. However, late last year Manning announced that he called on America's Federal Bureau of Investigation to help to reorganise the Trinidadian constabulary and American officials have visited the country in that regard. Nonetheless, the main opposition party, the United National Congress, criticised Manning's government, saying that since it took office, there have been more than 1,000 homicides and kidnappings for ransom has become endemic. "So far, every initiative of the Manning administration to deal with crime has failed," said Opposition leader Basdeo Panday. Panday said the crime wave, particularly kidnappings, has placed the business community under strain and near siege. Many business families have opted to migrate or at least, to send their children away, he said. The twin-island nation in the southeast Caribbean Sea is home to about one million people. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake