00:00The TTPS's strategic vision document to address crime is yet to be operationalized.
00:06But with the Prime Minister revealing some aspects of the crime-fighting plan in Parliament,
00:11one criminologist is already giving a failing grade.
00:14No, those measures are simply ineffective against transnational organized crime.
00:21Those measures are classic measures that politicians love
00:25because it is supposed to suppress criminality on the streets.
00:32And that is their primary concern.
00:34Figueroa laments that successive governments continue to tackle crime and criminality from the back end.
00:40Because all of those that we hear about in the prison system,
00:45those planning this and planning that,
00:47they are all connected to the Colombian dones.
00:51They are not operating by themselves depending upon ghost gang and C-Pepa and Earp by which to live.
01:02They are all involved in illicit trades because that makes all the money.
01:09So that is a reality we must now accept.
01:12And accept it publicly and now start to speak to breaking the collection.
01:16Figueroa believes the boots-on-the-ground approach to crime-fighting is politically motivated
01:22and says this is why resources are not focused where they rightfully should be
01:28on disrupting crime funding.
01:30We have this penchant for only speaking about the murder and the killing and the home invasion
01:37and things like that.
01:39But whilst that is going on,
01:42there is a ratting it up of cybersecurity attacks
01:47that is escalating in Finland and Tabago.
01:52And that is 21st century transnational organized crime.
01:56So the cybersecurity assault will get worse.
02:01And the way we are responding to it is that that particular arm of the TTPS is underfunded.
02:11So your National Operations Center and your new unit as a strike squad and things like that,
02:18that makes no difference in a cybersecurity attack
02:21because who are putting down the attacks?
02:23And not even in Trinidad and Tobago.
02:25The criminologist then referenced the bank heist back in 2022,
02:30which saw bandits use heavy equipment to tunnel into a commercial bank,
02:35evading an alarm system, CCTV cameras, and even motion sensors.
02:40We have already had an instance in Trinidad and Tobago
02:43where they moved in on the Republic Bank branch in Coover
02:48and they looted the safety deposit box section of the vault.
02:56And that bank is opposite to the Coover police station.
03:01That is transnational organized crime at its best.
03:04Renessa Cutting, TV6 News.
03:07Renessa Cutting, TV6 News.
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