By SUNSHINE TODAY CRIME REPORTER
Trinidad and Tobago’s murder rate has reached levels that no society should accept as normal. Each killing is followed by outrage, calls for tougher laws, heavier policing, and harsher sentences. Yet the violence persists.
This is not because the State has done nothing, but because crime in T&T is no longer only a law-enforcement problem—it is a cultural one.
By “culture,” we do not mean music, neighbourhoods, or poverty. We mean the everyday norms that shape behaviour: what is tolerated, what is admired, what is excused, and what is punished socially—not just legally. Until those norms shift, crime will continue to regenerate faster than the State can suppress it.
For too long, criminality has been allowed to coexist with ordinary life. Communities learn to live around gangs rather than reject them. Illicit wealth is displayed openly and admired quietly. Violence is explained away as “bad company,” “area politics,” or “just how things are.”
When crime becomes predictable, it becomes manageable—and once it is manageable, it becomes acceptable. That is the most dangerous point any society can reach.
A crime-free culture does not begin with more laws; it begins with moral clarity. Violence, extortion, gun possession, and intimidation must be socially isolating, not socially neutral. Criminal success must carry stigma, not status.
This requires leadership—from parents, educators, religious bodies, entertainers, business owners, and political figures—who are willing to draw clear lines, even when it is uncomfortable.
The family remains the first line of defence. Children who grow up without consistent boundaries, accountability, or examples of lawful earning are more vulnerable to criminal recruitment. Parenting is not a private matter when its failures become public violence.
Support systems for families—especially early childhood intervention, mentoring, and conflict-resolution skills—are crime prevention tools, even if they do not look like policing.
Schools must also reclaim their role as cultural anchors. Education cannot be limited to exams and certificates, while values are outsourced to the street. Respect for life, lawful conflict resolution, and civic responsibility must be explicitly taught and consistently reinforced.
When young people leave school without a sense of belonging or purpose, criminal networks are ready to provide both.
The State’s role is still critical, but it must be smarter. Enforcement without legitimacy breeds resistance; legitimacy without enforcement breeds lawlessness. Police must be visible, professional, and trusted.
Swift and certain consequences matter more than dramatic punishment. A justice system that moves slowly teaches criminals that risk is manageable. Speed, consistency, and fairness are the real deterrents.
Equally important is the economic culture surrounding crime. Too many murders are tied to illicit markets—guns, drugs, extortion, and underground economies that thrive because legal opportunities are blocked or undervalued.
When honest work cannot compete with illegal income, morality alone will not prevail. Creating pathways to legitimate livelihoods—especially for young men—is not charity; it is security policy.
Communities themselves must also change how they respond. Silence protects criminals, not residents. Cooperation with law enforcement should be the norm, not the exception.
This requires protecting witnesses, but it also requires a shift in mindset: loyalty to the community must outweigh fear of gangs. A culture of fear sustains crime; a culture of collective responsibility weakens it.
Trinidad and Tobago will not become safer through force alone. Crime will fall when killing is no longer excused, criminals are no longer admired, silence is no longer acceptable, and lawful living is visibly rewarded. Building a crime-free culture is slower than passing a bill—but it is the only path that lasts.
The real fight against crime is not only on the streets or in Parliament. It is in homes, schools, workplaces, and communities—every day, in what we tolerate and what we refuse to accept.
