00:03when it comes to police shootings the raw numbers tell a story but they don't tell the whole story
00:11new statistics released by the trinidad and tobago police service show that 2025 recorded
00:18the highest number of fatal police shooting incidents in the four-year period from 2023
00:24through august 2026 the figures were obtained through a freedom of information request made
00:31by attorney karen ramkalawan on behalf of vishal pisad the request sought campus statistics on
00:39police shootings and police killings between january 2023 and august 2026 the ttps says the
00:48request was approved and that its legal unit obtained the information from the crime and
00:53problem analysis branch in 2023 police were involved in 33 fatal shooting incidents resulting
01:01in 43 fatalities in 2024 there were 32 fatal police shooting incidents but the number of people killed
01:09increased to 49 then came 2025 53 fatal police shooting incidents and 65 fatalities that's a
01:21substantial increase in the total number of fatal shooting incidents compared with both 2023 and
01:282024 in fact 2025 represents the highest annual figure for fatal police shooting incidents in the data
01:37supplied by the ttps but the picture changes in 2026 through august 31st the police recorded 26 fatal
01:46shooting incidents with 31 fatalities that is already a significant number but it is important not to
01:54compare those eight months directly with the preceding full years and call it an annual decline as 2026 is
02:02incomplete and that distinction matters the police data end on august 31st 2026 so there are still four
02:11months of the year outside of this data set but there's another piece of context most of the 2026
02:18period covered by the foia response coincided with the country's state of emergency the state of emergency
02:26began on march 3rd and remained in effect for 199 days before ending in september that means the police
02:35shooting figures from march through august were generated during a period of extraordinary security
02:41measures but the data do not establish that the state of emergency caused the reduction in police
02:48shootings what they do establish is that 26 fatal police shooting incidents were recorded during the first
02:55eight months of 2026 compared with 53 during all of 2025 and that makes the final four months of this
03:05year
03:05particularly important when assessing the eventual 2026 trend and the pattern is not limited to fatal
03:12shootings the ttps recorded 45 non-fatal police shooting incidents in 2023 the same number was recorded in
03:21in 2024 in 2025 however non-fatal police shootings fell to 34 and through august this year there were 25
03:31non-fatal police shooting incidents with 38 people injured so while fatal police shootings peaked in 2025
03:39non-fatal shootings actually declined in that year that is an important distinction because looking only at
03:47the number of people killed by police would leave out another significant part of the use of force
03:53picture shootings in which people survive but are injured when fatal and non-fatal shooting incidents
04:00are combined the figures are 78 in 2023 77 in 2024 and 87 in 2025 and 51 between january and
04:11august 2026
04:12again 2025 is the highest full year total and 2026 at least so far is running below that pace
04:21but there's a caution here the 51 incidents recorded through august could not simply be presented as proof
04:27that police shootings are falling year on year the year once again is not finished the country has now moved
04:34from a
04:34lengthy period of emergency powers into a new framework for special police operations the newly proclaimed
04:41special operations legislation provides for policing districts and special operations to combat
04:47criminality including operations that can involve police officers with military assistance the legislation
04:53also provides for training in human rights use of force community engagement and conflict de-escalation
05:00as well as reporting requirements on special operations that puts new focus on the question of how force is being
05:08used particularly lethal force or vishita wari rubnarine tv6 news
05:13you
