Up to yesterday, T&T's murder toll was 447 with a killing in Maraval on Wednesday pushing the statistics up yet again.
While it may be unfortunate to say, by the time citizens read this editorial, yet another person or persons may have been made statistics by the unscrupulous killers who continue their rampage across the country.
A cursory look at some of the circumstances of these killings will also reveal that the majority of them are unrelated to each other. What this therefore means is that there are many killers walking among us. When one adds to this the increase in other crimes, it is enough to keep law-abiding citizens adequately pre-occupied with genuine concern for their safety.
In fact, this is so palpable that many citizens have, not for the first time in our country's history, implemented self-imposed curfews, this being seen as perhaps the best measure to reduce instances of them ending up in the direct line of attack of the criminal element.
Bank employee Shannon Banfield's recent killing, during what should have been a routine shopping chore, has only served to rile up citizens' anger at the state's inability to tackle a problem that many have constantly argued is perpetrated by a minority of the population.
Banfield is but one of several innocent victims whose lives have been snuffed out this year by killers who seem to have no fear of being captured much less prosecuted.
In fact, the criminals' no-fear attitude is so powerful, they literally taunt law enforcement agencies by creating videos showing off their firepower which they post on social media.
So where is National Security Minister Edmund Dillon while all this apparent criminal upheaval is taking place? He has certainly now enjoyed a longer honeymoon than his most recent predecessors, even surviving calls for him to be dismissed during the recent Cabinet shake-up.
But the day is drawing nearer when Dillon, now part of a long line of former Defence Force-trained men to be given responsibility for the state's national security machinery, will have to deal decisively with the country's crime woes and spiralling murder rate in particular.
It is now also seems clear that the government will not receive the full co-operation of the opposition on the crime measures.
Such support is needed by Dillon and the People's National Movement Government if the country is to be successful in beating the murder scourge.
The lapse recently of Bail Bill and Anti-Gang Amendment laws is but one example of this.
Still, laws are but one element of the problems being faced in relation to the country's crime detection rate and perhaps it is these other areas that Dillon must look at.
Fingers continue to be pointed at the T&T Police Service, a unit that many argue should be saddled with the majority of the blame for the current state of the country's crime levels. We have heard many complaints about their operations, from acting Police Commissioner Stephen Williams' own management, too a low detection rate, issues with rogue elements, manpower and lack of technology. Then there are the issues within the Judiciary, where a backlog of cases and other failings mean that hundreds of citizens charged for crimes - whether innocent or guilty - remain on remand for years without getting redress in the courts.
It is still possible that Banfield's case, through the response it has engendered from several quarters of society, may be the catalyst to force the Government and Opposition's hands on coming together to deal legislatively with the matter in order to provide law enforcement with the extra support they need for the crime fight.
In the interim though, Minister Dillon must realize that he has to take the bull by its horns and come up with other innovative ways to deal with crime. He has spoken ad nauseam about several such plans he has in mind.
The country is yet to see ones which have borne fruit. The time therefore is now ripe for Mr Dillon to repay the faith which Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley exhibited in him to fix the crime problem in the country.