Minister of Defence Wayne Sturge and Minister of Homeland Security Roger Alexander have commended Police Commissioner Allister Guevarro and the officers of the TTPS for maintaining high security throughout various Carnival events this season.
Speaking to journalists during a walkabout in Port of Spain on Carnival Tuesday, Police Commissioner Allister Guevarro noted that the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service’s security strategy has held firm.
“Thus far we have seen no Carnival-related homicides. We even had one last night in the Northern Division. Again, not related to Carnival whatsoever. So, thus far, the security strategy and the apparatus has been working. There was an unfortunate incident of two persons being shot and one person being stabbed but that had nothing to do with the Carnival. That had to do with gang violence.”
Minister of Homeland Security Roger Alexander said he was impressed with the level of security throughout the Carnival season, noting that security and crime suppression is the responsibility of all citizens.
“That is the direction we are going. Government has its responsibility and every member of the defence arm here, you see there today, have a responsibility. But you, the citizens, you, the media, also have a responsibility and let’s hold them accountable for most, if not all, of their despicable acts against the people.”
Minister of Defence Wayne Sturge echoed the sentiments of his colleague, praising the work of the Commissioner, his team, and the members of the Defence Force, who provided support to the TTPS. He said this collaboration can continue after the Carnival season.
“Life is not perfect. That’s the perfection of life. You always have things to reconsider. So we will see what needs to be improved upon. I haven’t seen that much. In terms of what happened J’ouvert morning with the teenager, I think that really, that’s not something we could have dealt with. We tried to rescue him and so on. But if we get more cameras on the road and so on, we might be able to have a little more, you know, in terms of interdiction. But I was out on the Avenue yesterday and other parts, and there were police officers and Defence Force officers stationed at almost every corner. So I think it can’t get much better than that.”