Scotland wants Erla to ‘improve’

Minister in the Ministry of National Security, Keith Scotland, says both he and Police Commissioner Erla Harewood-Christopher must step up their efforts to tackle the rising murder rate and other serious crimes.

At the opening of the Industrial Court’s new law term yesterday, Scotland was asked if he was satisfied with the top cop’s approach to crime-fighting.

While Scotland believes she is “doing her best”, he emphasised that Harewood-Christopher must adopt a tougher stance on crime.

“I would say that the Police Commissioner is doing her best to address this situation. There’s always room for improvement and we request, respectfully, improvement on all parts even from myself, even though I’m just two months in the job, I think I could improve. I want to get more done,” he said.

Harewood-Christopher has faced criticism over the rising murder count, which has reached 446 so far this year, compared to 425 last year. However, she has reported progress in reducing other serious offences.

In response to Industrial Court President Heather Seale’s concerns about the impact of crime on the workforce and business owners, Scotland assured that he would not ignore these issues.

“I’m not going to bury my head in the sand and say it’s not an issue that needs to be addressed. It needs to be addressed and I’m addressing it as we speak,” Scotland said. He also urged young people involved in crime to take advantage of government programmes, such as the Military-Led Academic Training Programme (MiLAT) to create better opportunities for themselves and improve their lives.

“I take this opportunity again to say to those in Trinidad and Tobago who are bent on taking us down a path, I say to them to stop it, just, conduct yourselves. There are things, there are programmes that are there for young people. Access those programmes.”

Scotland suggested that there has been excessive discussion about the impact of crime and emphasised that the time has come for decisive action.

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