Persad-Bissessar credited police and her Government’s crime measures. The count is down 25, or about 8%, from this time last year.
PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad – Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar said Thursday that Trinidad and Tobago has recorded 280 murders so far this year, down from 305 at the same point in 2025 and 523 in 2024, a reduction of about 46%.
In a statement on X, the prime minister said her Government has placed strong emphasis on confronting violent criminals, strengthening national security and restoring public safety. She said legislative changes and better resourcing and equipment mean the protective services are not “outmanned or outgunned” on the streets. She thanked the Ministers of Homeland Security and Defence, Police Commissioner Allister Guevarro and officers of the protective services, and said more work remains to be done.
The figures are the Prime Minister’s, and she did not publish the underlying police data with the statement. Measured against 2024, the decline is about 46%, but most of that drop came between 2024 and 2025. From October 2025 to this October, the count is down by 25 murders, about 8%. In 2024, the country recorded a record 626 murders, the Express reported, and 2025 saw the lowest toll in over a decade.
On Dec. 31, Persad-Bissessar and Homeland Security Minister Roger Alexander said the murder rate fell 42% in the Government’s first eight months in office. In July, she cited police statistics showing 213 murders from Jan. 1 to July 20, 2026, against 331 in the same period of 2024, and credited police operations and the State of Emergency.
Political scientist Maukesh Basdeo said in July that crime data and public fear of crime can diverge, and that both should be considered when judging progress. Aurax News found no response yet from the Opposition to Thursday’s figures.