PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad – The Trinidad and Tobago government says it is establishing joint army and police posts at 30 communities across the country within the next four months.
(File Photo)Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar in a statement posted on social media, said that “many communities have for years requested increased security presence and the protective services and government are moving aggressively to provide such.
“These joint army police posts will provide a sense of comfort and help communities regain the use of their public spaces,” she said, encouraging non-government organisations, business chambers, community groups and councils to “adopt and support these posts and work with the security services”.
In her social media post with a photograph of herself and her Homeland Security Minister, Roger Alexcander, Persad-Bissessa, who is also head of the National Security Council, expresses “sincere gratitude” to the Commissioner of Police, Allister Guevarro, the director of the Strategic Services Agency (SSA) Alicia Henry, the Chief of Defence Staff Commodore Don Polo as well as the Prison Superintendent Elvin Scanterbury, and other stakeholders for “their shared vision of ending the grip of crime on our nation”.
Trinidad and Tobago recorded 213 murders for the period of January 1 through mid-July rhis year, according to official Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) data. The figure is a slight decrease compared to the 220 murders recorded during the same period last year.
The island is currently under a state of emergency (SoE) that ends in September.
Meanwhile, Opposition Leader, Pennelope Beckles, has described the government’s announcement as ” a knee-jerk reaction” to an “unplanned and unfunded” initiative.
She said the patrol is “also a calculated attempt to quietly reintroduce her failed ZOSO (Zones of Special Operations (ZOSO) Bill which was defeated in Trinidad and Tobago’s Senate on January 27, 2026), agenda through the back door.”
Beckles, the leader of the main opposition People’s National Movement (PNM) in a statement, said the move comes ” just days after her false boast that crime was down considerably, while home invasions and murders continue across the country.
“The Prime Minister fooled no right-thinking citizen with that claim. If crime were under control, there would be no need for this haphazard four-month plan,” Beckles said, questioning “what criteria determined the selection of these initial locations?
“The Prime Minister has spent the last sixteen months claiming that crime only happens in PNM communities, yet these proposed police and army zones reflect a glaringly different reality, fixed in 90% UNC areas. Does the Prime Minister intend to grant members of the TTDF police powers? Does the Prime Minister intend to slip the nation into ZOSO-style management at her whim and fancy?”
Beckles said with no funding allocated for this initiative and ongoing concerns about providing even basic support for soldiers ” where is the money coming from to staff and equip this initiative?”.
