DCP Benjamin: Police’s hard work in SoE ‘clearly paying off’
Written by Gregory Mc Burnie on February 4, 2025
POLICE say their hard work is “clearly paying off,” with more than 1,500 arrests and a decrease in crime since the state of emergency (SoE) began on December 30.
Speaking at a media briefing at the Police Administration Building, Port of Spain, on February 3, DCP Junior Benjamin said the police continue to see increases in the number of operations, arrests and gun and drug seizures.
“We have carried out 1,953 operations. We have targeted at least 1,731 priority offenders. We have conducted at least 12,387 searches, and we have arrested 1,522 individuals.
“We have recovered 73 firearms and 1,532 rounds of assorted ammunition. We have seized 164 kg of marijuana and one kg of cocaine.”
Benjamin added the statistics also showed an increase in gun seizures compared to last year along with an increase in the number of people charged with related gun crimes.
“We must compare this to last year, at this time, when we had 56. Based on the three-year average, we expected to recover at least 66 firearms by now. Today, we have recovered 73, which shows that our officers are actively finding and seizing firearms.
“Last year, we seized 27 (from people), but so far this year, we have seized 43, meaning more individuals will be charged and will be going to court.”
Benjamin suggested the SoE continued to be successful with decreased occurrences in multiple types of crime including a 59 per cent reduction in violent crime.
“We have had 32 murders compared to 46 in the corresponding period last year. In 2023, we had 66 murders. In terms of woundings and shootings, we have had 27 this year, compared to 65 last year. Sexual offences have decreased from 99 to 32, and kidnappings have decreased from 11 to 8, with no kidnappings for ransom this year compared to one last year.
He said robberies had only now crossed the 100 mark, with 101 reported up till February 3 compared to 260 during the same period last year.
Benjamin added there has been a 37 per cent reduction in property crimes, with 246 property crimes this year compared to 386 last year.
Benjamin said despite the results, police were still not satisfied with the current state of crime.
“Thirty-two murders is still too many, and we will continue to implement more robust strategies in the areas where we have seen increases.
“We have seen a decrease in murders in seven of our districts, and for those where there has been a slight increase, we are putting more strategies in place to address these issues.”
He also addressed concerns about the possibility of officers being overworked as the SoE called for an increased police presence across the country.
Benjamin said he continued to liaise with divisional commanders and meet with junior officers to ensure any such issues were dealt with.
He said most situations that arose were dealt with on a case-by-case basis and officers could still be granted short periods of leave.
He said police had not suffered a drop in morale as they understood the task at hand.
“As officers, we want to see an improvement in the crime situation, and therefore, as we go forward, we have a mission to accomplish, and we are not going to stop until we accomplish that mission, which is to see a reduction in crime.”
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