Last week, a 14-year-old boy was identified as the main suspect in a double murder which occurred at Benny Lane, St Augustine. The victims died from gunshot wounds.
As crime tears at the fabric of the country, the ages of people engaged in illegal activity are increasingly below the age of 18. Gangs continue to attract young people.
In terms of gender, the statistics show more male youths in crime than females.
This week, the Sunday Guardian spotlights children in crime.
Senior Investigative Reporter
shaliza.hassanali@guardian.co.tt
Forty-two children between the ages of 12 to 18 are currently being incarcerated at the Youth Training and Rehabilitation Centre (YTRC) charged with an array of criminal offences.
Three of the 42 are girls.
Some of the charges ranged from possession of firearms to armed robbery, shooting with intent, robbery with violence, kidnapping and even murder.
The statistics were provided to the Sunday Guardian on Thursday by Assistant Superintendent of Prisons Winfield Walker who is attached to the Arouca-based YTRC.
The correctional facility houses males and females (young offenders) under the age of 18 or minors.
Walker told the Sunday Guardian that 34 of the residents fall in the age group 12 to 18.
Five of the residents are over the age of 18. However, Walker said they “would have been committed by the court and sent here before attaining the age of 18.”
Out of 39 males, only four have been convicted. The remaining 35 were remanded in custody and their court matters are still undetermined.
The three females, who fall in the age group 14 to 18, each have a matter before the court but remain “unconvicted” at this time. The charges they faced were larceny of a motor vehicle, possession of a firearm and wasteful employment of the police’s time.
Walker said the list of charges for the males was extensive.
They include assault, burglary, assault with intent to rob, murder, housebreaking and larceny, larceny of persons, malicious damage, larceny, possession of ammunition, kidnapping, possession of ammunition, possession of a firearm, marijuana for trafficking, possession of firearm and ammunition, possession of dangerous drugs for trafficking, possession of cocaine, robbery with personal violence, resisting arrest, armed robbery, shooting with intent and false imprisonment.
List of charges YTRC’s residents currently face
Assault-2
Burglary-1
Assault with intent to rob-2
Housebreaking and larceny-3
Larceny-3
Larceny of persons-1
Malicious damage-1
Possession of ammunition-1
Possession of firearm-6
Possession of firearm and ammunition-5
Marijuana for trafficking-2
Possession of dangerous drug for trafficking-1
Possession of cocaine-1
Robbery with personal violence -5
Murder-1
Resisting arrest-1
Armed robbery-3
Shooting with intent-1
False imprisonment-1
Kidnapping-1
The charges, Walker said, showed the signs of the times.
As for the weapons the juveniles were caught with, Walker was unable to say.
He said children who are beyond the control of their parents or frequently run away would be sent to the YTRC by the court for supervision.
Walker admitted that many of the imprisoned males had been involved in a gang before being arrested and charged.
He identified some of the gangs as Seven, Sixx and Anybody Gets It (ABG).
These males operated at St John’s Road, St Augustine, and Farley Street, Tunapuna.
“Within the at-risk communities and heightened gang activities you find a lot of them graduating to be part of the gang culture.”
Walker said while a resident would learn a particular skill at YTRC during their incarceration there may be little opportunity for him/her in their community after being released.
Asked if there is hope for these residents, Walker said a collective effort was needed from government agencies to help these young offenders.
“The aftercare is what is needed. No matter how many programmes you may expose a resident to, when they have to go back to their at-risk communities and households that is where the vulnerability takes place.”
He said the gang leaders would recruit the teenagers after their release for re-indoctrination.
“The forces of the gangs are very powerful.”
Due to peer pressure, a broken family unit, financial constraints, unemployment and poverty, the young men would turn to gangs as an easy way out.
“Sometimes that is the only mode of survival they know.”
Walker said the YTRC has been offering programmes to reduce recidivism.
Five years ago, Walker said, the juvenile population was closer to “100” stating that the numbers have been reducing.
Today, he said, there are minimal repeat offenders at the YTRC.
‘Lack of proper parenting and family values’
Prisons Commissioner Deopersad Ramoutar said the YTRC has been providing mentoring, life skills, anger management, conflict resolution, mediation, team building, sports and education programmes for these misguided teenagers.
He said most of the residents lacked proper parenting and family values.
As a correctional facility, YTRC tries to rekindle the relationship between parents and residents.
These programmes, he said, are costly to the taxpayer.
“The prison is a necessary evil of using force to keep a human being incarcerated.”
Deopersad said some couples produce children who are left to fend for themselves.
He advised young ladies not to get pregnant “for a partner who you know isn’t worth being the father of your child. Don’t let your hormones and your sexual drive make you make wrong decisions and allow your child to come into this world to suffer.”
MiLAT enrols at-risk males
The Sunday Guardian reached out to the programme director at the Military-Led Academic Training (MiLAT) programme Lieutenant Anthony Goddard to find out how many expelled students had been enrolled in their social intervention programme but he was unable to provide a figure, stating that such information can be obtained from the Ministry of Youth Development and National Service.
However, Goddard said, the matter regarding students who were expelled was “before Cabinet for approval in terms of how exactly that is going to happen into the MiLAT structure.”
MiLAT enrols at-risk males between the ages of 16 to 20 into their programme.
These include young males who have criminal matters before the court.
As to how many of these at-risk men were accepted into their last programme, Goddard said he did not have that information before him.
He said these young men are “innocent until proven guilty.”
Approximately 85 per cent of participants graduate from the MiLAT programme, he said.
Gang recruiting and mentoring
How young men get roped in
Behavioural change consultant Franklyn Dolly said for a 13, 14 or 15-year-old boy to brazenly open fire on civilians or rival gang members can either be “an induction” into a gang or “to show they are in control and have limitless power.”
These juveniles, he said, have no leadership in their households and are easily recruited by gang leaders.
“There is no male in the home most of the time. If there is a male around they are passive. The gang leaders know their vulnerability and would go after them.”
He said these teenagers would feel a sense of belonging and love when they become members of a gang because in school they are unable to fit in and are not academically inclined.
“The only way they know how to be somebody is to be with a gun. And then they are going to use it.”
Dolly wondered how many of the 2,814 students who dropped out of school during the COVID-19 pandemic (between the start of 2020 and the end of 2022) had been re-integrated into the school system.
He said little attention was paid to this group of children and many could have been recruited into gangs.
“About ten per cent of our children could disrupt this country. Once they mobilise they could be so dangerous ... that is what is happening. So we have to dismantle those things. The only way you can break up the gangs is to have something attractive to offer them.”
Dolly said if this “ten per cent” of delinquent and deviant teenagers continue to grow “we could have a bigger crisis on our hands.”
Gang leaders replacing malfunctioning fathers
Seventh-Day Adventist pastor Clive Dottin said the country was underestimating the mentoring by gang leaders.
“We are allowing the local mafia with their Latin American connections to train and empower teenagers and young adults to become serial killers in T&T.”
Having counselled teenagers involved in gangs and drugs and gun peddling, Dottin said that of those he tried to help at least “60 per cent” have refused to turn their lives around.
Last month, Dottin said, he held a conversation with a 16-year-old gang member who wanted his stepfather killed.
“He told me he had already contacted an assassin.”
Dozens of gang leaders, Dottin said, have now replaced malfunctioning fathers.
Dottin spoke about two secondary schools in east Trinidad where gang leaders have been recruiting male students.
This was told to Dottin by the principals during a graduation ceremony last year.
“The strategy of these gangs is phenomenal. They are doing much better than the Government and a lot of churches.”
He said Police Commissioner Erla Harewood-Christopher was clueless as to what was happening on the ground.
“I think the Government is hoping for a drop in the murder rate this year and after that, they will go into next year’s general election.”
Dottin said when a gun is put into the hands of a teenager they feel omnipotent.
“The way to settle disputes and rivalry is to kill.” The best way to solve a problem is to be violent. What I find among the youth is an appetite for revenge.”
Many of the young recruits, Dottin said, look forward to being shot.
“Those who sustained gunshot wounds wear it as a badge of honour. After that, they get promoted in the gang. It’s an induction and indoctrination. We have a pandemic when it comes to teenagers having access to guns. This is a serious thing in this country. We are in a major crisis here. And it’s an intentional plan by senior gang leaders. The gang leaders don’t think they are winning. They know they are winning.”
Dottin said while the blood of innocent citizens continues to flow, the Government has been talking crap with little action.
“A lot of them never counselled one gang leader in their life.”
He said the Government has to revive institutions of the State and remove corrupt elements that are protecting the wrongdoers.
The religious leader said guns have been entering our country like nobody’s business.
“I understand from a certain politician that there is a particular gang leader who wants to unite all the gangs under him. I am saying to you, if that happens that guy will have more power than Imam Yasin Abu Bakr.”
If there is a united front with all the gang leaders, Dottin said, all hell would break loose in the country.
“But some of the gang leaders are not falling for it.”
No response from the Police Service
A list of questions was emailed to the communications department of the T&T
Police Service on Wednesday regarding how many individuals under the age of 18 were charged for guns, ammunition, home invasions, armed robberies and robbery with assault over the last decade.
The questions were referred to the Crime and Problem Analysis branch for responses which the Sunday Guardian did not receive up to yesterday.
The Sunday Guardian also reached out to Education Minister Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly querying how many of the 2,814 school dropouts had re-entered the school system and how many expelled students had been enrolled in the MiLAT programme.
Gadsby-Dolly advised that we seek a response to the latter question from the Ministry of Youth Development and National Service while she did not respond to the first question.
Children under 18 caught with guns
May 15, 2023–A 15-year-old boy was held by the police with an AR-15 rifle and a quantity of ammunition during an anti-crime exercise in Sangre Grande. The gun and ammunition were seized in the boy’s bedroom.
March 28, 2022–A 16 year old was arrested after he was caught in possession of a Mac 11 gun at Simon Street, Diego Martin. A search was conducted at the boy’s home where police seized the illegal weapon.
March 24, 2023–Police arrested a 15-year-old for possession of a revolver and driving in Gasparillo while not being the holder of a Driver’s Permit.
March 2, 2023–Arima Magistrate Brambhanan Dubay fined a 17 year old $16,000 after he pled guilty to possession of an AR rifle and ammunition. The teenager surrendered the gun to the police when they arrived at his La Horquetta home on April 28, 2021.
February 16, 2023–A contingent of officers on foot patrol in Maloney arrested a 16 year old for possession of a Mac 10 firearm with one magazine and 12 rounds of 9 mm bullets at Building 17.
February 9, 2022–A 15-year-old who ran after seeing the police was apprehended and searched. The police found a Steyr 9mm firearm containing several rounds of 9 mm bullets.
July 26, 2021–Police arrested and charged a 17-year-old after he was spotted standing behind a cluster of banana trees in Rich Plain, Diego Martin with a Barreta pistol and 13 rounds of 9 mm ammunition.
July 21, 2021–Adrian “Fat Boy” Bernard appeared before a Port-of-Spain magistrate charged with the possession of a Keltec semi-automatic firearm. The teenager was arrested along Aboud Circular, St James, during a police operation.
July 20, 2021–During Operation Strike Back 3, police arrested an 18-year-old who had a loaded Glock pistol and 13 rounds of 9mm ammunition tucked in his waist in Diego Martin.
June 20, 2021–police conducting a routine exercise in Pokhor Road, Longdenville caught an 18-year-old trying to ditch a shotgun and three rounds of 12 gauge cartridges.
The Judiciary had reported that based on matters filed in the Children’s Court during the period February 28 to September 30, 2018, 82 male and four female child offenders were remanded to the YTRC.
As of April 30, 2019, the number of male and female offenders remanded to the YTRC was 54.
This was according to data in a Joint Select Committee 2018/2019 report on Human Rights, Equality and Diversity which focused on the treatment of child offenders chaired by Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly.