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CCNTV6
  • 1 year ago

The Director of counter trafficking is reporting an increase in the prosecution of trafficking crimes. He also says some improvements are being made to make those behind the heinous crime face the full brunt of the law.


Transcript
00:00CTO director Alan McGill is reporting a 10 to 15 percent increase in trafficking
00:06in persons prosecutions.
00:09In comparison with last year, we have increased our rate of prosecution, that I am sure.
00:14A percentage of it?
00:16Well, a percentage of it, but it's a comparative.
00:2010 percent more, 20 percent more than last year?
00:22I would say between 10 and 15 percent more than the previous year.
00:26He says his unit is intent on bringing all suspects to face the brunt of the law,
00:31even if they are law enforcement officers.
00:34It is always difficult when people who are paid and expected to uphold the law,
00:39we ought to hold them to a higher standard.
00:42And if it is that they were to reduce themselves to involving crime,
00:46especially a crime like trafficking in persons, then, you know, they bring shame to the organization.
00:51Speaking with reporters at a seminar in recognition of human rights,
00:55say he has a wish list for the unit to do its job more efficiently.
00:59The number of reports we have to do, I mean, if we don't have the administrative support,
01:04then the director and the deputy director have to boot themselves to the chair and get those things done.
01:09So that is just one aspect of it.
01:11Of course, we would love to have some more investigators.
01:13Of course, we would like to improve our intelligence and investigative capacity.
01:19Victim care, we need law enforcement officers assisting victim care.
01:24So it's a number of things. We are fledgling. We are getting there.
01:27But we need to build that capacity, especially in our human resource.
01:31Migrants, he says, are often the victims of trafficking in TNT.
01:35We cannot discount, of course, and if I do, the migration from South America to Trinidad.
01:42So Trinidad is both a destination and a transit country.
01:47So with the political and economic upheavals in Venezuela, it has created a migrant group.
01:55The director says efforts are being made to better equip the audiovisual unit
02:00to ensure video evidence meets court standards for admissibility.
02:05He reports an improvement in shelter facilities and also says
02:09the traditional reliance on international partners in this effort has decreased.
02:13Now, we have encouraged the government to play its part in developing shelter stocks.
02:22And I must admit that within recent times, we have had some success.
02:28Because at present, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development,
02:33they gave me a task to investigate the investment of 10 shelters
02:38or a compound with 10 shelters to find out how can we bring it under the Ministry of National Security.
02:44And we are progressing with that. And the hope is that we can have a secure compound.
02:49Yes, where we can have witnesses properly protected.
02:53Arvashi Tewari, Ruben Arain, TV6 News.
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