Police can’t take full credit for safe Carnival

THE COUNCIL of Elders of Laventille yesterday expressed displeasure at the fact that the police service is taking all the credit for the relatively incident- free Carnival celebrations. The Council commended the police for a “splendid show of force and diligence,” but complained that no recognition was given to others who had a similar impact. CEO and spokesman for the Council, Lennox Smith, told Newsday: “The police said the safety of all festivities in the wider Port-of-Spain area was due to thorough frisking which was conducted at the various bus-stops and frequent patrols, but the fact is that Laventille people don’t take the bus.

“They can’t take credit for the incident-free Carnival. During several clandestine meetings we were able to convince the community leaders and gang members in the area to desist from illegal activity during the period. As a result those persons who would usually engage in violent activity either stayed at home or simply left their weapons at home.” In addition the Council has blamed the National Carnival Commission (NCC) for the low band turnout at the Piccadilly Greens judging point. According to Smith, the NCC failed to consult the “shakers and movers” within the Morvant and Laventille areas. “The NCC went about organising the venue without the input of the shakers and movers in the surrounding behind the bridge communities,” stated the Council.

Regarding the fact that there was no collaboration between the Council and the NCC, Smith said: “We were upset that this was not the case. However considering the present high profile of our organisation, I believe that they would not make the same mistake in the future.” Smith said if the NCC had contacted the Council, the Piccadilly Greens judging point would have been integrated into their Carnival initiative. This initiative included several community-based meetings and seminars conducted in the area prior to Carnival. Community leaders gathered with the intention of fostering increased patriotism and “preventing negative economic fallout from tourists’ arrival resulting in advisories against Trinidad and Tobago.” “We would have met with the leaders of bands like Poison and Legends to put all fears for safety to rest and ensure the turnout at the judging point would be better than it has been in the past two years,” added Smith. The Council thanked Public Utilities Minister Pennelope Beckles and the Solid waste Management Authority for their role in making the annual Laventille Junior Calypso Competition a success.