The Owner Dealers Association (ODA) is questioning the effectiveness of the Government’s crime-fighting measures, warning that restrictions on movement could place additional financial pressure on businesses already struggling to recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a media release, ODA president Reval Chattergoon said the association supported initiatives to tackle crime but expressed concern about measures that could affect businesses dependent on the free movement of people throughout the country.
Chattergoon said the prospect of renewed restrictions on movement brought back memories of the pandemic, when lockdowns and curfews left businesses struggling with loan repayments, mortgages, rent and reduced income.
He warned that some businesses had still not recovered from the economic effects of the pandemic and were now contending with increased taxes, operating costs and what he described as unfair taxation practices.
The ODA’s concerns come amid the implementation of the Special Operations Bill, which Chattergoon said had generated anxiety among law-abiding citizens because of what he described as a lack of clarity surrounding its provisions.
He questioned whether the proposed policing districts or zones could unfairly penalise the wider population in an effort to address criminal activity.
Citing figures he said were taken from the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) website, Chattergoon noted that 10,770 crimes were reported in 2025, compared with 9,938 in 2024 and 10,335 in 2023.
The figures also showed 2,720 reported crimes up to April 2026.
Chattergoon argued that the reported crime figures represented a small proportion of the country’s population of approximately 1.4 million. He questioned whether the proposed measures would impose unnecessary restrictions on the majority of citizens.
However, he said the association’s concerns extended beyond movement restrictions to the effectiveness and cost of the Government’s crime-fighting initiatives.
Chattergoon pointed out that national security budget allocations had exceeded $6 billion over the past three years and questioned what tangible results taxpayers had received from that expenditure.
He also called for greater transparency surrounding the cost and effectiveness of the TTPS Enforcement Visibility Initiative, involving Lidar guns, and the Active Directed Patrol Initiative, which uses electric vehicles.
Among the questions raised were how much the initiatives cost, how they were funded, how many police divisions benefited and how many offenders were reprimanded as a result.
He also questioned whether the initiatives could operate around the clock and whether the police service’s existing 24-hour shifts were producing the desired results.
The ODA president further raised concerns about the practical implications of policing zones for shift workers and students attending evening classes, questioning how they would access goods and services if movement between districts became restricted.
He also called for police resources to be distributed according to the size of policing districts, the number of calls for service and crime statistics in each area.
Chattergoon suggested that mobile police patrols stationed at strategic locations could offer a more practical response to crime than fixed police posts.
He cited the distance between the Arima Police Station and Blanchisseuse as an example, noting that officers could take approximately an hour to reach a crime scene in the remote community.
He questioned whether strategically positioned mobile patrols could improve response times while providing a greater police presence in vulnerable communities.
The association also questioned why, with approximately 7,000 police officers and thousands of reported crimes annually, the service could not improve its crime-prevention and detection record.
Chattergoon said the Government needed to consider the practicality, logistics and cost of its initiatives, arguing that short-term measures implemented without adequate consultation could create additional challenges.
“Any initiative intended to reduce crime and criminality is supported,” he said, while stressing the need for transparency and accountability.
He warned that the country should not repeat past approaches to crime prevention while expecting different results.
