Port of Spain - Crime

Crime

Further information: Crime in Trinidad and Tobago

Port of Spain and its immediate environs have a higher crime rate than any other part of Trinidad. Homicides countrywide rose from fewer than 50 in the 1980s, to 97 in 1998, then to 360 in 2006 (30 murders per 100,000 persons). It rose to approximately 500 in 2008 but decreased significantly in 2010 and 2011.

Many murders are drug and gang related, especially in the depressed communities of East Port of Spain. The police administration has responded by improving the working conditions of officers, increasing the use of forensic evidence and surveillance technology (CCTV cameras) as well as hiring overseas experts.

Reports of kidnappings for ransom which were on the rise a few years ago have declined dramatically since 2006. However, theft and violent crimes remain prevalent to this date, while crime and the perception of crime continues to hamper the economic prospects of the city.

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Famous quotes containing the word crime:

    “By measuring individual human worth, the novelist reveals the full enormity of the State’s crime when it sets out to crush that individuality.”
    —Ian McEwan (b. 1938)

    “It does make a big difference, it is why Robin Hood lives,
    crime if you know the reason if you know the motive
    if you can understand the character if it is not a
    normal one is not interesting a crime in itself is
    not interesting it is only there and when it is there
    everybody has to take notice of it. It is important
    in that way but in every other way it is not
    important.”
    —Gertrude Stein (1874–1946)

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    —Ernest Lehman (b.1920)