Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has credited coordinated efforts between the Government and the TTPS in reducing the murder rate, under the State of Emergency. In a social media statement, the Prime Minister shared statistical data noting that the country recorded 213 murders so far in 2026, down from 331 during the same period in 2024, the PNM’s last full year in government, amounting to 118 fewer murder victims.
According to the Prime Minister, the drop is even more pronounced when measured against projected trends. Based on murder rates that exceeded 600 annually under the PNM in 2023 and 2024, the Prime Minister said the country would have recorded roughly 400 more murders in 2025 and 2026 combined, had those trends continued. Instead, she said, the UNC administration’s tenure has coincided with approximately 400 fewer murders than that projection.
“Had the PNM remained in government, there would have been about 400 more murder victims in our country, based on the murder rates recorded under its negligence,” she said.
The Prime Minister also pointed to decreases in murders in all ten police divisions between 2024 and 2026. Port of Spain recorded the sharpest drop, from 61 murders in 2024 to 23 in 2026, while the Western Division fell from 29 to 20, and the Northern Division from 33 to 25. The Prime Minister highlighted these three divisions in particular, noting they cover constituencies traditionally considered PNM strongholds.
“Despite the deliberate misinformation from PNM MPs, the data show that their own stronghold constituencies are becoming safer because of the work of the UNC Government and the TTPS under the SOE,” Persad-Bissessar said.
