Senior Reporter
jensen.lavende@guardian.co.tt
Defence attorney Criston Williams is urging the Government to lay both the 2024 and 2025 reports of the Strategic Services Agency (SSA) in Parliament, arguing that they would provide vital insight into gang activities in the country.
The second State of Emergency (SoE) declared by Government was reportedly based on a threat of increased gang-related violence and credible intelligence of planned attacks on members of the protective services.
Williams said the 2024 report should have been presented in March last year, while the 2025 report is due by the end of this month.
“For both SoEs, the SSA data—which would outline gang violence, terrorism, and other threats—must exist in those documents. Without them, the public may not be accurately or reliably informed and must rely solely on statements from politicians. We have moved past that stage as a democratic society,” he said yesterday.
He added that threats against the protective services, while serious, are part of the expected risks of such positions.
“I don’t know when the requirements or expectations of a job become a solid basis for declaring a State of Emergency. But if that is the case, the SSA data should be used to justify any such decision to a right-thinking population,” Williams said.
He also cautioned that crime cannot be simply “detained away” and called for more sustainable measures to address it. Based on available data, he argued, rearresting detainees released under the last SoE makes little sense.
Meanwhile, retired Major Arden Williams, a former member of the SoE Tribunal, said many detainees appeared unaware of the tribunal’s authority and submitted requests to have their detentions dismissed. He advised the public to read the regulations, noting that review requests increased from roughly two per week to as many as 18 in the final week of the SoE, which concluded on January 31, having begun in July 2025.
He explained that reviewing detentions was never the tribunal’s remit, which was established to address concerns about the legitimacy of detentions. He recalled that, in one case, a man successfully convinced the tribunal that his detention had no merit. While the panel advised that he be released, the final decision rested with Homeland Security Minister Roger Alexander, who ignored the recommendation.
Asked if changes should be made under the current SoE, the retired Defence Force member said that should be left to Parliament.
Williams added that a month after the last SoE ended, the tribunal has yet to be compensated. He stressed, however, that the panel—comprising David Alexander, Shivangelie Ramoutar, and himself—were not aggrieved.
“This has been all about national service. We have not been remunerated, but commitments have been made. When that time comes, we will be grateful. Administratively, it fell within the hands of the administration to resolve. A Cabinet meeting in November settled the matter, and we hope remuneration will be delivered soon,” he said.
He concluded by wishing the incoming tribunal, whoever its members may be, all the best.
