Minister of Sport and Community Development Shamfa Cudjoe yesterday admitted that crime in Trinidad forces her to restrict activities that she will usually do in Tobago without hesitation.
Following a spate of brazen home invasions over the Easter weekend, Cudjoe was asked how has crime affected her personally.
“There are some things that I can do in Tobago that I cannot do in Trinidad,” Cudjoe said,
“For instance, I’m a runner. I get up early in the morning, I run late at night but there are some places I would not do that in Trinidad, one, because I don’t know all the places that I’m supposed to, and two, we know there are certain communities and certain areas and it’s getting beyond certain communities where you have youngsters doing all types of things.”
The minister admitted fear of crime has a firm grip over people in Tobago and is causing residents there to rethink the structure of their homes.
“I remember back then in Tobago burglar proof was an ugly thing for us, we did not like it. For us that was a Trinidad thing for all the houses to have burglar-proof and now it’s something that you have to get now in many communities,” she said.
Cudjoe expressed concern that criminals are getting faster, smarter, and more technologically savvy.
“It’s something that we all have to deal with, especially as communities evolve and transform. Technology has made it easier for crime. It’s easier in our households for youngsters to access different ways to get into criminality through social media, through YouTube. They see different ways of doing things, so we have to all stay on the job as parents, as teachers, as leaders and as government.”
She also lamented that community upbringing seems to be a thing of the past as people are more self-absorbed: “Sometimes we forget to look out for each other and care for each other, sometimes you see your neighbour’s child going astray and the parents in these communities don’t see the need to check up on or discipline them. You can’t discipline your neighbour’s child like you used to.”
Cudjoe urged parents to remember it is their responsibility to keep their children disciplined and on the right side of the law.
She said through her Ministry’s MPowerTT programme, which seeks to address issues faced by males in society, she has listened to their cries for direction.
“When you interact with these youngsters and you hear the need for family and those who feel left behind because of the absence of the community, those who feel left behind because their mothers went away and left them when they were young children so they went looking for family among criminals, the stories are very touching so something you may look at as inconsequential actually has consequences,” she said.
Cudjoe said the programme, as one of her ministry’s strategies for crime reduction, focuses on conflict management and low self-esteem issues.
