With crime and violence continuing to be major concerns, the recent state of emergency targets those involved in illegal activity, particularly firearm possession. Inspector, Michelle Lewis, shared how this is impacting law enforcement efforts.
“As a result of the amount of firearms that we have in the country it has been an increase of the fatal murders or homicides in the country. So much so that we ended the year with 624 which is unprecedented in our nation. And as a result of that certain action has been taken to assist law enforcement with that problem that we have. And I say law enforcement because the regulations speak to the TTPS the police but also to the Defence force. So in a state of emergency the defence force has all the powers of the TTPS.”
Inspector Lewis also stated that the state of emergency also gives law enforcement enhanced powers to address the issue.
“So, under the State of Emergency the police officers with the intelligence that they have can enter premises and search those premises for firearms and ammunition. It could be a vehicle it could be a vessel; it could be a home a property yea anything.”