00:00Last week in the House of Representatives, Homeland Security Minister Raja Alexander
00:05revealed that there have been 69 reported home invasions since the passage of the home invasion legislation in January of
00:12this year.
00:13He said for the same period, 25 people had been charged under the act.
00:18The figures were presented as part of the government's assessment of the legislation's impact.
00:24TV6 News saw the perspective of leader of the Patriotic Front, Makayla Pandey.
00:28Any thoughts on that and the state of crime in the country?
00:32I don't even know where they get their statistics from because the people on the ground are saying something totally
00:37different.
00:37I don't know how many reported. So it's very difficult to see how effective any legislation actually was.
00:44Crime continues to be the major issue in the country.
00:48And again, I continuously, almost on a daily basis, just keep on calling what is the crime plan.
00:54Pandey says there are people who are afraid to report home invasions.
00:59Prior to assuming office, Prime Minister Kamala Passat beses a link to Stand Your Ground proposal
01:04alongside the distribution of firearms users' licenses.
01:09One of the conversations is that, yes, there's the legislation, but people don't have firearms.
01:14Your thoughts?
01:15Well, how many have been distributed?
01:18How many have been approved?
01:20How can anybody make any kind of reasonable, rational statement when we do not know?
01:28So how many since Stand Your Ground legislation was passed?
01:31TV6 News has reached out to the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service for information regarding the number of firearms licenses
01:38approved since January.
01:39Pandey adds that increasing police resources alone does not amount to a comprehensive crime strategy.
01:47Crime is multifaceted.
01:49You have to look at prevention.
01:51You have to look at detection.
01:52You have to look at prostitution.
01:54You have to look at rehabilitation.
01:55It's not one simple thing.
01:57What is your crime policy?
01:59It's a huge thing.
02:00The government's Crime and Justice Reform Manifesto had pledged to reduce serious crime by 50% within five years
02:07through a combination of legislative reforms, policing initiatives and social intervention programs.
02:15Alicia Boucher, TV6 News.
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