Kejan Haynes
Criminals are coming to east Trinidad not just to hide, but to settle and set up new criminal enterprises.
That’s what acting commissioner of Police McDonald Jacob told the Sangre Grande Regional Corporation. He’s also telling them not to allow crime to fester by engaging with the criminal elements.
Jacob met with the council as part of his tour of regional corporations. He last met with the Arima Borough Council a month ago. Jacob told them the Eastern Division used to compete with Tobago for the lowest number of serious crimes in the country. The crimes were often domestic disputes. But recently there have been spikes in murders with three recorded in just one week in and around one street, Picton Extension.
Jacob notes ten of the murder victims in the Eastern Division were not from the area. Many of the murders he says are tied to land grabbing and illegal squatting.
“Don’t encourage these illegal settlements!” He warned the Sangre Grande Council. “It happened in Carapo and it’s happening here. I warned the councillors, yes you’re looking for support and looking for votes but something worse can come out of it.”
He said it’s hard for police to patrol squatter settlements because there are often no paved roads or electricity for lights. He also noted the criminal elements are employees of those who are doing illegal quarrying. He said some are involved in drug blocks and some are even involved in transnational crime.
The Multi-Agency Task Force set up by the TTPS has responsibility for monitoring illegal quarrying and the unlawful development of communities.
This unit works with the Land Settlement Agency and other related agencies. Now there are calls for it to be expanded from the ten officers currently assigned.
Chairman of the Sangre Grande Regional Corporation Anil Juteram told the commissioner the regional corporation often receives the blame for the increase of illegal squatting and quarrying in their district. But he said much of the illegal activity is being done through originally legitimate means as someone could receive a contract to quarry five acres of land but once that land is exhausted they begin to encroach on state land.
Juteram added that unplanned developments are a strain on the resources of the corporation and safety risk if they move in to destroy the illegal structures.
“How could we put our backhoe with the logo of the Sangre Grande regional corporation in there?” he asked.
“We not putting our staff at risk. It’s time the Commission of State Lands gets its own resources. We are not sending our employees to get murdered.”
Former chairman Terry Rondon chimed in: “But during election time we are there with leaflets!”
Speaking to Guardian Media after the meeting Juteram said he will be calling for a meeting with the agriculture minister, the commissioner of state lands and the commissioner of police to address the issue of illegal quarrying on state land. He called on the Minister of Energy Stuart Young to look into who’s gaining contracts to quarry on agricultural land.
“This must be a signal that we are sending to all other corporations and all other agencies that no one is above the law,” he said.
Juteram said other agencies have taken a hands-off approach and are placing all the blame on the TTPS and the Corporation.
Jacob told Juteram and the council they should be willing to be interviewed by investigators. He said too often people are willing to say things in the public domain but when the police come to interview them they say: “I say what I have say already.”