00:00Basically a state of emergency is the suspension of certain constitutional
00:05rights. The police service will be given the powers to search premises without
00:11warrants, to search persons without warrants who they have suspicions of
00:16carrying out criminal activities, a lot of it associated with illegal firearms.
00:21Acting Attorney General Stuart Young during the media conference at the
00:24National Security Ministry's head office in Port of Spain on Monday while the
00:28police made their presence felt by way of a roadblock exercise in one part of
00:33Port of Spain what appeared to be a strategic exercise. The acting AG noted
00:37that the Prime Minister said a state of emergency is going to have
00:41inconveniences and urged the public to work with the authorities. While the SOE
00:46at this time does not include a curfew it will be in effect when schools reopen
00:51in January. A message of course to parents just because there are some
00:55Absolutely and I appreciate that question. At this stage this declaration
01:00of a state of emergency does not affect our day-to-day lives apart from the
01:04inconveniences that you will face. I ask the public to please work with the
01:10authorities. And what about the work of the 2025 carnival season the nation's
01:15largest tourism revenue earning period? One of the decisions taken was in the
01:21not having a curfew and in not preventing gatherings of people and
01:26movements of people that is one of the things. However Minister Young said he
01:30cannot predict what is going to happen over the next three months during a
01:34state of emergency aimed at reducing the high level of acts of gun violence
01:39including murders. Once the SOE ends we wouldn't want to see an increase or
01:46things going back to how it had been. What can you tell the public about that?
01:49Absolutely there's little that we can tell the public at this stage about it.
01:52We are providing the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service and the Defense Force
01:56with a significant constitutional tool where I think it one of you all said it
02:04is going to be targeted operations utilize it to the best of your ability
02:09to try and protect us the population. While the People's Partnership
02:13Administration declared the 2011 SOE a success lawsuits against the state
02:19followed. This is a court of appeal case that talks all about the illegalities
02:24and the errors made with the 2011 state of emergency that has now frontally
02:30been provided to Trinidad and Tobago Police Service. We at the government
02:34level have studied it in our drafting and in the laws that we will pass.
02:37However those who have to carry out the activities during this public state of
02:43emergency will best be guided by this by this decision. The Acting Attorney
02:48General said he has been in contact with the Acting Chief Justice concerning the
02:52setting up of a tribunal for the state of emergency.
02:55Jewel Brown TV6 News
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