As Police Commissioner McDonald Jacob yesterday reminded citizens of the dangers they face, he called for legislation to be re-visited to ensure people with multiple charges for firearm offences are denied bail for up to six months to give police time to conduct investigations.

Jacob told the Express that criminals are lurking on the streets as well as in the virtual world, “In Trinidad and Tobago even where there are family disputes concerning land and property, persons are hiring criminals who are out there waiting to be hired to get rid of persons,” he said during a phone interview.

These hitmen are paid thousands of dollars to murder people, he said. “There are gangs out there that have some segments of their operations to be hired for that purpose,” Jacob noted.

The Commissioner said the data shows that many people charged with firearm offences are repeat offenders.

“In fact, I have the data to show that out of the 172 persons who were actually charged, not just for possession of firearms but for shooting offences, 56 of them are serious repeat offenders who were charged for a significant amount of violent crime issues where firearms were used,” he said. “That is just the data I’ve reached right now. The other nine hundred and something persons we’ve charged for possession of firearms, in doing the analysis to show that some of them who were charged for possession of firearms for last year, were previously charged on several occasions for violent crime and criminal offences.”

Jacob said police are asking that the issue of bail be revisited, “Because these people are going in there and getting bail and these are the persons being hired as shooters and making themselves available to do the job to get rid of persons,” he said.

Jacob said an extension of time to deny a person bail will assist, especially as the Police Service is working to improve its case management system.

The Service has set up a “one-stop shop” in the processing of firearm charges so they would be ready at a much faster rate for matters before the courts.

“We know at times we were at fault with the three months they were giving and we were not ready. But we are saying now we’ve placed ourselves in a position to be ready to go on because at present we have a cycle where persons are being charged for possession of firearms and within 24 to 48 hours they are back outside to continue their activities,” he said.

Jacob also urged people to be vigilant on social media.

He said women should be wary about making arrangements to meet individuals they speak to online. People should have a “handler” — a relative of friend who knows every detail of any planned meeting with a person who one meets online.

“Be careful of the whole aspect of making friends on Facebook and then meeting. It is safer to have handlers in every situation. A handler is someone who knows where you are going, who you are going to meet,” he said.

He said people can go to the police to try to obtain information on an individual.

“We can do some vetting and check on that individual and determine whether that person might be a suitable person to interact with. We need to bring it to that level now, let us know, let your family know,” he said. “Women have to be very careful. Young ladies, be careful who you interact with on the social media.”

He said the police’s Cyber Crime Unit identifies and targets criminals but very often most of this occurs after a crime has taken place.

Jacob said there are also criminals who are grooming young people and preying on innocent victims.

“There are some people, all they are doing is sitting in a room on a computer and they are looking for would-be victims to prey on and they will target them with fake profiles,” he said.

He said police are also dealing with robberies from online interactions as well as many reports of young women being targeted.

He noted there was a recent case of a woman from Princes Town who ended up in Port of Spain.

“We are happy that she is alive today. Again, there is an issue with social media and we are warning persons to please be careful,” he said.

He said the police always promote crime prevention measures.

“We are asking people to be aware of their surroundings. Know what vehicles you are travelling in. If you see something, say something. If you are suspicious about something, go to the police,” Jacob said.

With respect to PH taxis, Jacob said the police are taking note of drivers’ names and vehicle numbers in various areas.