A state of emergency (SoE) was declared in Trinidad and Tobago on Monday morning, hours after reported gang-related killings overnight.
A statement from the Ministry of Communications advised that President Christine Kangaloo, on the advice of Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley, declared the SoE because of increased crime that posed a danger to the public.
“The circumstances warranting the declaration of the public emergency are based on the advice of the TTPS [Trinidad and Tobago Police Service] to the National Security Council of heightened criminal activity which endangers the public safety,” it stated.
The Trinidad Express newspaper reported that at least four men were gunned down in an apartment in Laventille overnight, the latest in a series of killings connected to gang warfare across the East West Corridor.
In her proclamation, President Kangaloo said, “I am satisfied that a public emergency has risen as a result of the occurrence of action that has been taken, or is immediately threatened by any person, of such a nature and on so extensive a scale, as to be likely to endanger the public safety.”
Trinidad and Tobago has recorded over 600 murders so far this year.
The last time an SoE was declared in Trinidad and Tobago was in 2021 to allow restrictions to fight the COVID-19 virus.
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I lived in Trinidad during 2002 – 2005, where the now opposition party, also called an SOE. It didn’t change much on the ground. The kidnappings continued, and the robberies. My laptop was stolen during that time, and a buddy of mine was kidnapped.
SOEs are not crime-fighting tools; they are just tools that allow the government to do things under circumstances it would not ordinarily be able to. Thus, the government gave itself enhanced powers to address the escalating crime situation.
Maybe the enhanced powers, such as curfews, increased police presence, and suspension of certain civil liberties, temporarily disrupted criminal activities. But I didn’t feel it. I was never scared but didn’t go out late at night and stayed out of hot spots.
I hope that this SOE declaration is followed by meaningful action. It is useless unless used properly.
Declaring an SOE without follow-up measures to address systemic issues (e.g., reforms in policing, justice systems, or socio-economic programs) limits its long-term effectiveness.
SOEs are also good politics. SOEs provide good fodder for opposition parties. Ironically, the now Government heavily criticized the SOE when they were in opposition, saying (among other things) that the then Government had lost all hope and could not try to scare all Trinidadians that the government was coming for them.