With four murders at 6th Avenue in Malick Village since Wednesday, the area’s Village Council has expressed deep concern about the level of crime and violence in its community.
In a release to the media yesterday, the 6th Avenue Malick Village Council said it was particularly worried about the impact violence is having on the well-being of residents, especially young children.
The Village Council claimed that it has sought a meeting with the Member of Parliament for Laventille/East Morvant Adrian Leonce, but has not been able to schedule a date.
“Your Village Council has taken note of the continued silence from our elected officials both at the Local and Central Government levels on this every serious issue currently affecting our community,” the council said.
It added that the newly elected executive wrote to “our Member of Parliament, for a meeting since June 2024 to discuss many issues that continue to plague our community, unfortunately to date the MP has not given us a date to meet with members of the Village Council.
“This continues to show the level of disrespect our community/residents continue to get from those we have elected to serve us.”
Efforts to contact Leonce yesterday were futile.
Since Wednesday, four people have been murdered in separate incidents in the community. Twenty-five-year-old Josiah Reid and 39-year-old Quacy Emmanuel were shot and killed, while 36-year-old Hakim Mitchell, a local cricketer, was shot dead when gunmen opened fire on 54-year-old Junior Olliverie who succumbed to his injuries at the scene.
The Village Council said it is time for action.
“We call for the establishment of a police post in the 6th Avenue Malick Community, as well as joint Army/Police Foot Patrols.
“It’s very important to understand the root causes of these problems and address them through comprehensive strategies that will provide education, training and employment opportunities, which promote positive role models and mentorship programmes, and improve access to social services and mental health resources for all,” the 6th Avenue Malick Village Council’s executive stated.
The executive said it is seeking an urgent meeting with MP Leonce, local government councillors for San Juan West, and Caledonia/Upper Malick, as well as representatives of the Ministries of National Security, Social Development, Sports and Community Development, Youth Development and National Service.
Guardian Media visited 6th and 7th Avenue yesterday afternoon. There were very few people outside. Three residents spoke but on the condition of anonymity.
The first resident, a 70-year-old barebacked East Indian man, blamed the government for the state of crime in the community and country. He questioned why it remains possible for people to access bail for murder and rape.
“From the main road up to the temple is a very cool area. It doesn’t have any set of crime, but you see up in the back and up on the hill? Sixth Avenue is gunplay every night, every night. It is machine gun, so you must hear the bullet.
“It is getting worse. This week real people died. The crime is all about. Crime is a paying thing. Plenty people are making their money,” the man, who has lived in Malick his entire life, said.
An Afro-Trinidadian woman in her early 40s said she was new to the area but felt fairly comfortable so far. While Guardian Media tried to speak with her, a man called for her to come back inside the house.
She said she keeps inside her house and her direct surroundings are safe, but admitted that she often heard gunshots from up in the hills.
Two young men—barebacked with chains—near a construction site insisted, with mischievous grins, that there was no crime in the area. They said, instead, the real problem was unemployment.
“Yeah. It’s really, really difficult to get wuk,” one of the young men said.
At a Trinidad and Tobago Police Service press conference, on September 5, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Operations, Junior Benjamin said police had the crime situation under control.
He said seven of the ten TTPS divisions recorded their lowest murder counts in the last five years.