ASSURANCES from National Security Minister Fitzgerald Hinds that a special team has been designated to respond to home invasions across the country is not sitting well with UNC Chaguanas East MP Vandana Mohit.
Mohit represents residents of Cunupia, one of the areas Hinds identified as recording a spike in home invasions between 2022 and 2023.
Speaking in the Senate on Tuesday, Hinds said Cunupia was among the communities which saw an increase of home invasions from five per cent in 2022 to 12 per cent this year. Hinds said he, as well as the police remained very concerned about this intrusion.
Questioning why he sat on the statistics and did nothing, Mohit made a call for action on behalf of her constituents, to avoid home invasions all together.
She recalled correspondence, press releases and public utterances she made regarding the alarming increases in home invasion, which she said he failed to address or acknowledge over the years.
"Now that Hinds is fully cognisant of the alarming increases of this scourge that is rampant within the Cunupia region and, given that he has provided the empirical data supporting the escalation," she said in a release. She is asking Hinds to state the immediate plan of action to be implemented by the police.
“Those dastardly acts perpetuated on the innocent, hardworking citizens must now be urgently addressed and a sense of normalcy must be availed and subsequently restored to their everyday lives,” Mohit said.
“It is widely recognised and accepted that it is the duty and responsibility of the government to provide a safe and secure environment to its people, sadly they have failed miserably in this facet."
She questioned why no concerted action was taken since 2022 when the statistics were collected and presented to his office.
She observed there has been no increase resources, no additional patrols, neither heightened security has been initiated.
“What is the minister proposing in order to allay the fears of those Cunupia residents, bearing in mind that he is and was in possession of these statistics?
“This is a clear manifestation of the incompetency of the minister," she said asking what is the use of statistics if it cannot be put to proper use. "Now that figures are out in the public domain, the people of Cunupia and by extension Central Trinidad, is demanding of the minister, full protection against the criminal elements."
She called on him to act now and prevent the next home invasion.
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