TTPS suppressing the true murder rate

The media conference was held together with Opposition Senator Gerald Ramdeen, and it was called to address the recent assertions of Prime Minister Keith Rowley, that former PM Kamla Persad-Bissessar was “anxious to have 438 people killed.” Rowley made the statement on Tuesday night at a campaign meeting in San Juan, and he made the statement in response to Persad-Bissessar’s claim that the reported murder figure of 400 in the local media as of Monday November 14, 2016 was incorrect, and it was in actuality, 438.

Sturge, in the press conference, backed the Opposition Leader, affirming that her figure of 438 was accurate and produced a document cataloguing the number of murders to date for 2016, confirming the number of 438.

He said, “...It seems as if the left hand doesn’t seem what the left hand is doing in the Police Service.

And it’s even worse with the media. We rely heavily on the media to be a check and balance on the government and to be a check and balance on the Police Service, and to report accurately.

It seems since September 7, that certain investigative journalists who touted themselves as investigative journalists, they have since passed on, we’re asking on these persons to be Lazarus, and it’s time to wake up. I say so because the media seems to be lagging behind on what the actual murder toll is...I’ll first deal with the TTPS website. According to the TTPS website, downloaded today, 17 November 2016, according to the...crime stats as it stands in T&T, it’s 405, and after the 405, there’s a question mark. So it seems as though the TTPS is not even sure that it’s 405. But what is interesting, is according to the same website T&T kidnappings for the year, 0.

“Now I would expect the investigative journalists to do like Lazarus and wake from the dead, and ask the TTPS about Rhea Sookdeo who was kidnapped, and that’s just one person who was kidnapped...So clearly, one cannot trust the information coming out of the TTPS...I don’t understand how the TTPS’ count is 405 and the media’s 408.”