The Trinidad and Tobago Police Service Southern Division is reporting a major increase in murders, shootings, and robberies from January to September as compared to the same period last year, but is assuring that crime fighting initiatives have been bearing fruit.
Acting Senior Superintendent for the Southern Division, Richard Smith, says the Division has implemented several initiatives to deal with the increased crime activity including increased patrols, intelligence-led investigations, and redeploying detectives at several police stations.
He says the Division has been seeing more serious reported crimes this year than in 2021. However, he notes that since initiating the anti-crime approaches, including synchronized patrols and road blocks, there has been a 47% reduction in those serious reported crimes from August to date.
The patrols in particular, he believes, have led to a reduction in robberies as well as the seizing of at least 15 firearms in the Division.