US, Australia declare TT safe

THE United States and Australia have declared Trinidad and Tobago a safe global destination, despite current levels of crime in the country.

Consular information received yesterday from the US State Department said “there has been an increase in kidnappings for ransom” since 2002 and “while US citizens have not been targeted, at least one American citizen has fallen victim to kidnappers.” However the US government stated that notwithstanding this information, TT cannot be classifed as a security risk to American citizens. “In general, Trinidad and Tobago is considered safe,” the State Department declared. The State Department advised US citizens travelling to TT that petty crimes are the major source of concern. They must be security conscious at all times and report any incidents either to local police or the American Citizens Services Unit at the US Embassy in Port-of-Spain. Information from the Australian Foreign Affairs and Trade Department concurred with the US State Department’s view on kidnapping and crime in TT and advice to Australians coming here.

The US State Department’s findings are also confirmed in the latest overseas security report on TT which states “the greatest threat to travellers are petty theft and armed robbery of their personal belongings.” The report further states that “the overall level of kidnappings in TT is nowhere near that of other countries in the region” but advised expatriates to take basic security precautions. The report also expressed satisfaction with efforts being undertaken by the government to deal with crime in TT. Last week, a newspaper article alleged that TT was second to Colombia regarding kidnappings per 1,000 persons for 2002. The article was based on information from a spokesperson of New York-based risk consultancy firm, Kroll Inc, and also claimed that there were 941 kidnappings in Latin America but only 19 kidnappings in North America and the Caribbean for 2002.

Attorney General Glenda Morean said following a meeting with Kroll executive managing director Thomas V Cash on Tuesday, it was disclosed that Kroll had none of the information which the report claimed and no member of the company had communicated with that daily newspaper (not Newsday). Checks with Kroll last week revealed that the company has no proven track record in the analysis of kidnapping or predicting global kidnapping trends. National Security Minister Howard Chin Lee said the article was “bogus” because there is no single standard used to analyse kidnappings worldwide. Opposition Leader Basdeo Panday claimed the article showed that kidnapping was out of control in TT and there was an urgent need for Government and Opposition to unite society in the fight against crime. The overseas report also said contrary to allegations by UNC Senator Sadiq Baksh, there is no “threat posed by radical Islam” to the security of the State and current intelligence data indicates that the group referred to by Baksh in a December 24, 2002 Insight Magazine interview, “presents little threat to the islands.”