After four days of debate in the Upper House, the Bill governing the Zones of Special Operations is now at the Committee stage.
Attorney General John Jeremie reiterated the importance of the ZOSO, noting that this strategy has the best interests of all people of Trinidad and Tobago in mind.
He said the Zones of Special Operations eliminate gangs on an institutional level, as well as eliminating the socio-economic dysfunction that enabled their existence.
“They’ve been spoken to at length over the past four days. While I was in Barbados, as I went to the Attorneys General Roundtable, and we spoke on crime and also on gang-related crime. I interfaced with my colleagues from Jamaica up to this morning, and they say that the impact of this legislation, the ZOSOs, has been significant.”
The Attorney General noted that these developments are not new to Trinidad and Tobago. He said Trinidad and Tobago’s significant crime scourge has been noted with concern by its CARICOM neighbours.
“They were aware of the developments in Haiti, aware of the developments in Jamaica, aware of the developments in Trinidad and Tobago, and that they viewed those developments as existential threats to governance, gangs ruling society. Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago permitted themselves to express deep concern. That is in the wording of the communique.”
He urged senators to make the right decision in voting for the bill, allowing the government, through legislation, to properly deal with the country’s crime problem and give law-abiding citizens true freedom to live in peace.