Beautiful Virgin Islands

Thursday, Jun 26, 2025

MovieTowne owner says Trinidad losing investment due to out-of-control crime

MovieTowne owner says Trinidad losing investment due to out-of-control crime

Crime in this country “is really out of control and is affecting business in a big way,” regional business tycoon Derek Chin has said.
Chin, who was inducted into this country’s Business Hall of Fame in 2018, made the statement to Guardian Media in a telephone interview yesterday, as the country surges to the unfortunate record of 600 murders for this year. 

“A lot of people I know, they are not investing any more money in the country, they have lost confidence and they are looking to take whatever savings they have to another destination.

Trinidad is not a paradise where people feel they can invest and feel comfortable anymore. A lot of the money is going other places and that makes it worse because less business means less employment, more hardship so on and so forth. Everything is just out of whack,” Chin said.

The murder toll stood at 591 last evening after a brutal 13 hours from Monday into yesterday in which five people were killed, including two double murder incidents in Moruga and Piarco.

Chin, the owner of MovieTowne, said while a city like Miami also has crime, it does not feel the same as it does here.

“The fact that nobody seems to be held accountable, that the rate of solving crime is obviously very, very low and we don’t have confidence in the police service, it does not auger well for us who live here and the business community and those who have to go to work every day and the people don’t want to go out in the night, which especially affects us in the entertainment business,” Chin said.

“Nobody wants to go out in the night because they are afraid to go home and worse, of course, are these home invasions, where even your privacy in your own home is impacted.”

He said citizens now have to include closed-circuit television cameras, alarm systems, dogs and other security measures to feel safe at home. He said when you put all that together, it is certainly not a position or place where we want to be as a country.

“People are looking for some degree of hope, putting more policemen and going after bandits and shooting them is not the answer, you have to look at what the source is, it is not going to solve itself overnight,” Chin said.

“It is a generation or two that have gone awry and we have to look at those who have the power to look at where the problems are in those communities, where there is much hopelessness and try to solve the problem in terms of re-education and creating more courses and discussions to see how we could stymie this,” he said.

“Our police, while they try hard, they have some things stacked up against them and we don’t have the confidence with what we see happening. It is also caught up with the politics and we are looking for solutions with both opposition and government and all we getting is more bacchanal,” he said.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
UK to Enhance Nuclear Capabilities with Acquisition of F-35A Fighter Jets
Russian Shadow Payments via Cryptocurrency Reach $9 Billion
Explosions Rock Doha as Iranian Missiles Target Qatar
“You Have 12 Hours to Flee”: Israeli Threat Campaign Targets Surviving Iranian Officials
Macron and Merz: Europe must arm itself in an unstable world
Germany and Italy Under Pressure to Repatriate $245bn of Gold from US Vaults
Airlines Evaluate Flight Cancellations Amid Escalating US-Iran Tensions
Starmer Invites Innovators to Join Government Talent Scheme
UK Economy’s Strong Opening Quarter Shows Signs of Cooling
Harrods Seeks Court Order to Secure Al Fayed Estate for Victims
BA and Singapore Airlines Cancel Dubai Flights Amid Middle East Tensions
Trump Faces Backlash from MAGA Base Over Iran Strikes
Meta Bets $14 B on Alexandr Wang to Drive AI Ambitions
WATCH: Israeli forces show the aftermath of a massive airstrike at Iran's Isfahan nuclear site
FedEx Founder Fred Smith, ‘Heart and Soul’ of the Company, Dies at 80
Chinese Factories Shift Away from U.S. Amid Trump‑Era Tariffs
Pimco Seizes Opportunity in Japan’s Dislocated Bond Market
Labubu Doll Drives Pop Mart to Status as China’s Most Valuable Toy Maker
Global Coal Demand Defies Paris Accord Goals
We have new information and breaking details to share about what is shaping up to be a historic air campaign tonight
Six Massive Bombs Dropped on Fordow; Trump: 'A Historic Moment for the U.S., Israel, and the World'
Fordow: Deeply Buried Iranian Enrichment Site in U.S.–Israel Crosshairs
United States Conducts Precision Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear Sites
US strikes Iran nuclear sites, Trump says
Pakistan to nominate Trump for Nobel Peace Prize.
BBC Demands Perplexity AI Immediately Stop Using Its Content
Telegram Founder: I Will Leave My Fortune to Over 100 of My Children
Political Turmoil Resurfaces in Belgium Amid Economic Concerns
Fed policymakers divided on timing of interest rate cuts
Trump signals imminent agreement with Harvard University
Inheritance tax referendum alarms Swiss billionaire community
Japan cancels bilateral security meeting amid US defence demands
AI skeptic Emily Bender warns that ‘the emperor has no clothes’
Israel Confirms Assassination of Quds Force Commander in Tehran
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
Senate hearing on who was 'really running' Biden White House kicks off
Iranian Military Officers Reportedly Seek Contact with Reza Pahlavi, Signal Intent to Defect
FBI and Senate Investigate Allegations of Chinese Plot to Influence the 2020 Election in Biden’s Favor Using Fake U.S. Driver’s Licenses
Vietnam Emerges as Luxury Yacht Destination for Ultra‑Rich
Plans to Sell Dutch Embassy in Bangkok Face Local Opposition
China's Iranian Oil Imports Face Disruption Amid Escalating Middle East Tensions
Trump's $5 Million 'Trump Card' Visa Program Draws Nearly 70,000 Applicants
DGCA Finds No Major Safety Concerns in Air India's Boeing 787 Fleet
Airlines Reroute Flights Amid Expanding Middle East Conflict Zones
Elon Musk's xAI Seeks $9.3 Billion in Funding Amid AI Expansion
Trump Demands Iran's Unconditional Surrender Amid Escalating Conflict
Israeli Airstrike Targets Iranian State TV in Central Tehran
President Trump is leaving the G7 summit early and has ordered the National Security Council to the Situation Room
Taiwan Imposes Export Ban on Chips to Huawei and SMIC
Israel has just announced plans to strike Tehran again, and in response, Trump has urged people to evacuate
×