Crime & Justice Reform: Taking Back Our Nation
The United National Congress (UNC) will reduce serious crime by 50% within five years by undertaking the most comprehensive overhaul of the justice and national security systems in decades.
Commitment
Our Commitment
For far too long, citizens have lived in fear. Murders, home invasions, and violent crime are now at all-time highs. In 2023 alone, Trinidad and Tobago recorded over 600 murders, one of the highest per capita murder rates in the hemisphere. Home invasions and sexual assaults have surged, and gang violence continues to tear through our communities.
The failure of the PNM government is absolute. In nearly a decade, they have spent over $40 billion on national security and yet, by every metric, crime has worsened:
Murder detection rate fell below 10% in some divisions.
Conviction rate remains dismal—less than 5% of serious crimes result in convictions.
Police manpower and resources remain underfunded and poorly managed.
The UNC understands that national security is about more than patrols and punishment—it is about prevention, justice, support, and reform. Our strategy is not just tough—it is smart, coordinated, and community-rooted.
Modernize & Professionalize the Police
Increase the retirement age for Defence Force personnel.
Launch a Police Education and Apprenticeship Program offering diplomas and degrees in policing.
Provide customer service and public relations training to improve citizen interaction.
Standardize and procure fit-for-purpose vehicles and provide GPS-linked mobile access to crime databases in all units.
Establish simulation theatres, shooting ranges, health facilities, and swimming pools for advanced training.
Fully implement COMPSTAT and digitize all police stations.
Target Gangs, Guns, and Repeat Offenders
Pass Stand-Your-Ground legislation and define the offence of Home Invasion.
Implement expanded ankle bracelet use and a house arrest system.
Create smaller, regional detention centres to break up gang concentrations in prisons.
Strengthen the Transnational Organized Crime Unit.
Increase covert border operations and establish new coast guard bases.
Reform the Justice System for Swift Trials
Build more courtrooms in high-demand areas and refurbish Magistrates’ Courts.
Fast-track indictable cases to be completed within 2–3 years.
Enhance the DPP and Public Defender offices with staffing and resources.
Revise plea bargaining legislation.
Create legislation to distinguish first- and second-degree murder and rape.
Ensure capital trials are heard by a panel of judges and completed expeditiously.
Strengthen Victim Rights & Support
Introduce a Victims’ Rights Act and establish a Victim Services Unit.
Provide maintenance grants and housing assistance to victims of violent crime.
Expand safe houses for women and children.
Train police, prosecutors, and educators in victim management and advocacy.
Ensure access to case progress updates and school support for affected children.
Fix the Root Causes of Crime
Reform the education system to support all learners, especially those with learning difficulties.
Reintroduce homework centres and after-school care to reduce unsupervised youth.
Launch peer mediation, anti-bullying apps, and violence prevention programs in schools.
Provide parenting workshops and support groups for single-parent households.
Fund faith-based and NGO youth mentorship and community guidance programmes.
Expand and Reform the Prison System
Build modern, lower-security prisons for non-violent offenders.
Introduce restitution work programs so prisoners can compensate victims.
Allow regular visitation for prisoners, especially parents.
Invest in rehabilitation through training, mental health, and life skills programmes to reduce recidivism.
Capabilities
Boost Forensics & Intelligence Capabilities
Build a new Forensic Science Complex at UWI Debe.
Offer scholarships for careers in forensic science.
Equip labs for timely drug and firearms analysis.
Use intelligence for public safety, not political surveillance.
Communities
Make Communities Resilient & Secure
Reactivate Community Comfort Patrols and strengthen highway patrol units.
Staff the E999 call center and install electronic security billboards.
Increase and decentralize CCTV networks with local command centres.
Encourage gated community development and security infrastructure upgrades.
Be Part of the Change Trinidad & Tobago Deserves
Join us as we build a brighter, safer, and more prosperous future for every citizen. Stay informed, get involved, and make your voice count in shaping the nation’s destiny.
Laws
Empower Law-Abiding Citizens
Revise firearm policy to allow easier access for law-abiding citizens.
Provide licensed personal firearms to police and prison officers under threat assessment.
Enable citizens to participate in public safety decisions, such as hearings on liquor licenses.
Our Goal
We will cut violent crime by 50% in five years. We will do it by rebuilding broken institutions, deploying smart and fair enforcement, delivering justice swiftly, supporting victims, and addressing the deep social wounds that fuel criminality.
It is time to reclaim our streets, restore our faith in justice, and rebuild a nation where safety is not a privilege but a right.
The UNC will act decisively, strategically, and with urgency to make Trinidad and Tobago safe again.