VZCZCXRO9142
RR RUEHGR
DE RUEHSP #0406/01 0901833
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 311833Z MAR 06
FM AMEMBASSY PORT OF SPAIN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6637
INFO RUCNCOM/EC CARICOM COLLECTIVE
RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS 3567

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PORT OF SPAIN 000406 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPT FOR WHA/CAR, INL/LP 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV KCRM SNAR TD
SUBJECT:  100 MURDERS IN 85 DAYS:  T&T POLICE CANNOT 
KEEP UP 
 
---------------------------------- 
MARCH 2006:  42 MURDERS IN 26 DAYS 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶1.  (SBU) SUMMARY:  One hundred murders have been 
committed in Trinidad and Tobago in the first 85 days 
of 2006.  Police officers attribute the problem to a 
combination of guns, drugs and gangs.  Additionally, a 
track record of police incompetence and fears of 
repercussions keep civilians from working with the 
police force, further exacerbating the problem.  The 
Government has turned to foreign law enforcement 
consultants and technology as local law enforcers seem 
overwhelmed by the upsurge in crime and may benefit 
from basic training in police work.  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2.  (U) March 2006 is officially the "bloodiest month 
on record" in Trinidad and Tobago with 42 murders in 26 
days, pushing the murder toll to 100 in only 85 days. 
If murders continue at this rate, at least 430 
Trinbagonians will be murdered by the end of the year, 
compared to 384 in 2005, which holds the murder record 
for any one year.  T&T law enforcement officials 
continue to meet to develop strategies for catching and 
prosecuting the criminals, especially in light of 
intense media coverage. 
 
¶3.  (U) Largely, the murders are confined to certain 
neighborhoods around Port of Spain:  Laventille, 
Morvant and Diego Martin.  Since colonial times, 
Laventille, just to the east and north of Port of 
Spain, has been a center of rebellion that generally 
makes its own rules and is a perpetual source of crime. 
Morvant, contiguous to Laventille, also has a higher 
than average concentration of crime.  Now, the murders 
are spreading to Diego Martin (west and north of Port 
of Spain), which is a more upscale neighborhood.  It 
seems that criminals are migrating into Diego Martin to 
hide out, but that their rivals still track them down. 
 
--------------------- 
GUNS, GANGS AND DRUGS 
--------------------- 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) for 
Operations, Winston Cooper, points to the trio of guns, 
gangs and drugs as the root cause of the high murder 
rate.  ACP Cooper speculates that many of the murders 
are essentially retaliation and jockeying for position 
after a gang leader gets killed.  He asserts that the 
government's controversial Unemployment Relief Program 
(URP) funds drug purchases by providing otherwise 
unemployed persons with salaries for 10-day shifts 
doing public works.  Further, ACP Cooper suspects some 
of the murders occur because of "employment turf wars," 
or fights over who works where for whom, casting 
suspicion on URP foremen and work group leaders.  A 
higher-than-average proportion of murder victims had 
some affiliation with the URP. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) The third point of this deadly triangle, the 
guns, is the most slippery.  ACP Cooper speculates that 
the guns are smuggled in via nearby Venezuela. 
Trinidad's numerous small bays and coves provide 
excellent cover for criminals who wish to import 
contraband into the country.  It is widely believed 
that the gun trade comes along with the narcotics 
trafficking; the country is flush with small arms. 
 
--------------------------------- 
POLICE MISTRUSTED, CANNOT KEEP UP 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶6.  (U) Many Trinbagonians distrust the police.  Some 
fear retaliation if they call the police to report a 
crime.  The police force has a history of being non- 
responsive to calls for assistance and a reputation for 
being on the take.  Although it seems to be a positive 
sign, many Trinbagonians point to the number of police 
being brought up on charges for criminal activity as 
reason not to trust them.  Additionally, the police 
career is widely seen as a "fall back" career, one that 
nearly nobody enters as a first choice.  As such, the 
force is perceived to lack a certain professionalism. 
Since people do not trust the police force, they do not 
report crimes to them.  This hampers investigations, 
especially since most criminal cases are prosecuted 
based on eyewitness testimony; Trinbagonian 
 
PORT OF SP 00000406  002 OF 002 
 
 
jurisprudence makes it difficult to introduce other 
forms of evidence, such as DNA or wiretapped evidence. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) ACP Cooper and other law enforcement agents 
argue that they are doing their best, but need support 
from the community.  They also point to the need for 
more up-to-date training and better equipment.  Deputy 
Commissioner of Police Glen Roach has mentioned public 
relations training so that the police force can burnish 
its image and regain the public's trust. 
 
--------------------------------------- 
COMMENT:  TECHNOLOGY OR BASIC TRAINING? 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶8.  (SBU) COMMENT:  Most Trinbagonians now speculate 
not about if, but when the next murder will happen. 
The public perception of the police force is part of 
the problem.  Reformers at the top receive no credit 
for their work, and without support cannot make changes 
fast enough to stem the rising criminal tide.  This 
feeds a cycle in which the police force cannot keep up 
with the criminals, a culture of impunity perpetuates, 
and the population gets more and more disillusioned 
with the police.  The Government of Trinidad and Tobago 
has turned to technology and outside consultants to 
bolster the police force and law enforcement agencies, 
which seem to be overwhelmed by the upsurge in crime. 
It seems that so far, equal weight has not been put on 
providing basic training in police work.  We are 
attempting to rectify with our meager law enforcement 
and counter narcotics assistance by providing training 
opportunities, including establishing a self-sustaining 
canine training academy and basic crime scene 
investigation and anti-kidnapping training as well as 
conducting joint exercises with counter narcotics 
agencies.  END COMMENT. 
 
 
AUSTIN