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. 
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