Police Commissioner Dwayne Gibbs says Carnival related crime reduced by 48 per cent as compared to the same period last year. Gibbs made the statement at the T&T Police Service (TTPS) post Carnival news conference yesterday at the Police Administration Building, Port-of-Spain. He said: "Despite the size of the operation and concentration of persons in a small area there were only 130 offences, with 63 arrests being made." Gibbs thanked the members of the police service and other protective services involved in Carnival crime prevention for their successful efforts.
He noted that there were 12 reported murders during the period but said they were unrelated to Carnival revelry. Deputy Police Commissioner Jack Ewatski highlighted the recently installed CCTV system in Port-of-Spain as an invaluable tool for containing crime during the Carnival season. Ewatski said: "Through our Operations Centre we were able to assess situations and deploy necessary forces in areas where disturbances occurred." He also said the presence of the CCTV cameras played a preventative role during the season and would be utilised in the future.
Ewatski commented on the use of glass bottles as weapons especially around Carnival citing a major incident of bottle throwing in Woodbrook. "We are looking into the matter and would support a move to find alternative ways of packing alcohol using plastic bottles or plastic cups instead," he said. When pressed by reporters about two alleged incidents of excessive police force during Carnival, Gibbs said that the incidents were being investigated and would be taken seriously.
One incident involved an officer allegedly discharging his firearm after being attacked by a group of cutlass wielding men in Matura and the other, the shooting of schoolboy, Commie Micheal Torres, who was killed outside the Living Room nightclub on Monday night. Eyewitness and relatives claim that Torres was shot in the chest by a plain clothes policeman during a bottle pelting incident at the corner of Queen and Sorzano Streets in Arima.