Commentary
Paolo Kernahan
PAOLO KERNAHAN
I STUMBLED across a statistic this week I thought had to be wrong – the number of murders in New York City in 2024 was less than 400. This is one of the largest and most economically diverse cities on the planet, with a population of nearly nine million.
The number of murders in sweet TT in the same year was 625, with a population of just under 1.4 million. That dangles a nauseating notion: Trinis are delusional about just how dangerous this country actually is, certainly when stacked up against other countries struggling with crime.
Jamaica’s homicide rate in 2024 was quite high, at 1,141. That number, though, has been falling since 2021. Also, for the same year, TT recorded 41 murders for every 100,000 people. In Jamaica, that figure is 40, so we’ve edged slightly ahead.
The repeat visitor and travel blogger known as Zoe posted a comment online recently that shone a light on our collective delusion. Responding to chatter from Trinis implying that she was reckless for travelling around Mexico City in her usual way – a lot of walking and public transportation – she sent a hot slap for her detractors all the way from over there.
Ms Zoe pointed out that Trinis don’t have the same words of caution for her when she is travelling around Trinidad (actually, they do), but TT ranks as the sixth most dangerous country in the world. Online surveys differ; another one ranking nations by crime puts TT at eighth. Either way, we’re up there in the rarified air with Venezuela, Haiti, and South Africa – so, bad company.
Recently, two young female tourists were robbed at knifepoint while returning to their apartment at Picton Street in Port of Spain. It’s tempting to exhale with relief, knowing how much worse that could have gone. For them, however, it was bad enough; robbery with violence on a Caribbean island. This incident is a reminder of a truth most of us close our ears to: crime has been allowed to become so pervasive that criminals are stalking the country at all times and everywhere.
We may downplay just how bad this place has become because confronting reality could trigger a mental meltdown. It’s not just about the murders. Violent crimes such as carjackings, home invasions, robberies and sexual assaults have quietly cemented themselves into our way of life – crime is now culture. We mask the mayhem with boat rides, Carnival, luxury dining and other palliatives because “we can’t let the criminals win,” even though they’ve already won.
Still, it’s important to note that the murder rate so far (up to August anyway) hovered at 231 – a considerable drop of 35 per cent from the same period last year. However, we can’t forget that this country has been under a state of emergency (or SoE lite) for most of 2025. Under such circumstances, one would think there would be few to no murders and minimal crime. Without a curfew and other more potent measures, something is happening out there that can only be explained by one factor: Commissioner of Police Allister Guevarro.
This CoP represents a significant departure from his predecessors, although that isn’t saying much. His seat was, for far too long, warmed by indifference and incompetence, leading in no small way to the uncontrolled pestilence that’s overrun the country. There are glimmers in Guevarro of the kind of leadership the TTPS desperately needed.
From an operational standpoint, there’s also evidence that the police are far more proactive than reactive in undermining the criminal insurgency. There have been substantial interventions in robberies, kidnappings and narcotics.
Even so, we appear to be making the fatal mistake of putting this all on the shoulders of one man and expecting the TTPS to do all the heavy lifting. While the police are putting out fires everywhere, every day, the government shows no signs of a strategic approach to combating criminality. This administration is maintaining a focus on the same stand-your-ground populist pacifier that will not make this country safer, even if it makes a privileged few feel safer.
Police reform, judicial reform, and social interventions are the only true paths to stifling criminal culture. What the police are doing right now is pulling up the weeds; the minute that slows (and it will), we will be back to square one. None of this is normal; we need to be loud about how uncomfortable crime has made our lives and make the government equally uncomfortable with the status quo.