As Trinidad and Tobago prepares for life after the State of Emergency, criminologist Dr Randy Seepersad says the focus must now turn to sustaining effective policing strategies and targeting the people behind organised crime.
According to Dr Seepersad, reviewing the wide range of policing strategies implemented during the SOE can help shape effective policing practices that continue after the emergency measures are lifted.
“Targeted firearm investigations, very strong and sustained police visibility, attention to priority offenders – all of these are features that work for the success of the State of Emergency, and really they centre around TTPS activities and the activity sheets of the TTPS really do reflect these kinds of strategies. So it means that we can then look at the strategies and how we can translate these outside of a State of Emergency.”
The criminologist said the Zones of Special Operations (ZOSOs) are an excellent solution.
“Rather than having the police working nationally across the nation spread out very thinly, working very intently to deal with crime at all levels across the nation, which is something that is good but something that is difficult to sustain. The ZOSO operations would allow you to possibly target and to properly adjust the way police officers are deployed so they are responsive to crime situation.”
He makes the case for placing greater emphasis on preventive and community-based crime strategies, while stressing that firm law enforcement measures must also play a role.
“Far more importantly for me is not only the law enforcement component of ZOSO and what you could do under it but the social intervention component. That, for me, is at the heart of it because it’s using the law enforcement component to create that calm and to create the space where you can actually put the interventions in place.”
Dr Seepersad said law enforcement efforts should put special focus on dealing with those who finance and profit from criminal activity, arguing that targeting lower-level offenders alone is far less effective.
“The reality of it is that these are the persons at a higher level who are driving the crime situation, who are organising the crime, who have the international contact to transship drugs, transship firearms, etc. And quite often the smaller man on the streets – the guys who are selling the drugs, the guys who are using weapons to commit robberies etc. these are not the persons behind the scenes.”
Dr Seepersad argued that post-SOE efforts should focus on the financiers and masterminds who fund, direct and profit from criminal activity, saying this will be key to achieving lasting results.