Carnival 2015 has been described as one of the safest by acting Police Commissioner Stephen Williams who said there were 40 serious crimes between Carnival Sunday and Carnival Tuesday. Seven firearms were seized and 12 people were arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol. Williams was speaking during a press briefing held at Police Administration building, Port-of-Spain, yesterday.
He said statistics of serious crimes from the past three Carnivals between 2012 and 2014—122, 109 and 46—showed a gradual decline. The continuous drop, Williams said, was attributed to the high visibility of police officers on the nation’s roads.
“Compared to previous years there have been a lower number of serious crimes than any other years so in that context we can speak about it being a safer Carnival. A lot of people truly appreciated the visible presence of the police officers,” Williams said. Also speaking was Carnival Gold Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) in charge of Operations, Harold Phillip, who said operational plans were generally well executed as they included all arms of national security.
“Carnival 2015 was a successful event and it was a safe event,” Phillip added. On the effectiveness of people voluntarily using the sober zones to test their alcohol level, he said, the fact that there were no road fatalities proved the initiative was a success. Police reported a Moruga pensioner was hit by a car while crossing the road on Carnival Tuesday and died in hospital yesterday.
Williams, who agreed, said more and more people were conscious of the consequences of drinking and driving. Williams did provide the number of police officers who called in sick or who stayed away from work during Carnival. Instead, he attributed the high visibility of officers to proper planning. “Excellent execution would allow (us) to get the result we want. So we planned up more than the required number of officers for Carnival so any absenteeism would not have impacted the requirement,” Williams added.
breakdown of crimes
Carnival Sunday
Western Division
Robbery with aggravation—1
Port-of-Spain Division
Larceny—1
Central Division
Larceny— 1
Carnival Monday Central Division
Assault and battery—1
Port-of-Spain Division
House breaking and larceny—1
Larceny—4
Robbery with violence—1
Murder —1
Wounding —1
Robbery with violence—1
Eastern Division
Malicious wounding—1
Cocaine possession—1
Fighting—2
Southern Division
Cocaine possession—2
Weapon possession—1
Larceny motorcar—1
Fighting—2
Marijuana possession—1
Malicious damage—1
Northern Division
Fighting—3
Malicious wounding—1
Weapon possession—1
Indecent assault—1
Resisting arrest—1
Wounding with intent—1
Obstructing a police officer—1
Port-of-Spain Division
Larceny person—1
Larceny—2
Robbery—1
Robbery with violence—1
Murder—1
North Eastern Division
Murder—1
Carnival Tuesday Tobago Division
Shooting with intent—1
Western Division
Malicious Damage—1
Central Division
Shooting with intent—1
Resisting arrest—1
Port-of-Spain Division
House breaking and larceny—1
Larceny person—1
Assault—2
Shooting with intent—1
Marijuana possession—1
Northern Division
Report of body found—1
Forgery—1
Assaulting a police officer—1
Port-of-Spain Division
Murder—1
Norther Eastern Division
Wounding with intent—1
moruga road fatality
A Moruga pensioner died early yesterday in hospital from injuries she sustained after being hit by a car while crossing the road.
Around 4.10 pm on Carnival Tuesday, Koriesha Minnie Khan, 70, was struck by a car driven by 34-year-old Nigel Boodoo, while she was crossing the La Lune Road in Moruga. Khan, who suffered severe head and neck injuries, was taken to the Princes Town District Health Facility and then transferred to the San Fernando General Hospital. She died around 5 am yesterday at the hospital.
Boodoo, of St Mary’s Village, Moruga, was questioned by police and later released. Acing Cpl Jairaj of the Moruga is continuing investigations.
—Sharlene Rampersad