President of the Chaguanas Chamber of Industry and Commerce, Baldath Maharaj, has called on Police Commissioner Allister Guevarro and Minister of Homeland Security Roger Alexander to confront the escalating crime crisis gripping Central Trinidad.
Speaking at a breakfast meeting in Chaguanas on Thursday morning, Maharaj warned that business owners in Central are “living in fear,” leading to early closures, increased reliance on surveillance technology, and a growing climate of anxiety.
“We have seen businesses closing earlier than normal, and that has been happening for quite a number of years now. We see families living behind burglar-proof and CCTV cameras and more so using iCloud storage and hiding their DVR so that the criminals won’t find it. Employees have a fear for leaving work.”
He said despite a 50% increase in the population of Chaguanas over the past decade, there has been no corresponding increase in police presence in the area.
“More so, we have more and more crime hotspots. I’m not going to call the name of the hotspots. So clearly the Police Service is understaffed in Central Trinidad.”
The Chamber President also called for Government to prioritise three issues that are critical for the business sector: “One, Standing Your Ground legislation. We have been looking forward to that. The application process for firearm user’s license, and what can be done to improve on our travel advisories sent out by the US State Department. That is hindering business, because a lot of business people have a fear of coming to Trinidad to invest.”
The event took place at Passage to Asia in Chaguanas.