In an address to leaders of Trinidad and Tobago’s business community on Wednesday, Police Commissioner Allister Guevarro sounded a stark warning: the pervasive public fear of crime has become a more corrosive threat to the nation’s economy and public confidence than the actual crime problem. Speaking at the headquarters of the T&T Chamber of Industry and Commerce in Westmoorings, Guevarro pushed back against widespread negative narratives around crime, pointing to recently compiled police data that shows sharp, measurable declines in violent and major offenses across the country.
Guevarro framed fear not as a passing subjective emotion, but as a tangible, behavior-shaping force that warps decision-making and undermines progress long before any criminal act occurs. “Economic stability and public confidence are more interconnected than ever. This morning, I want to speak to you not just about crime itself, but about something that is far more corrosive, persistent and economically damaging, which is fear,” he told attendees.
Official statistics compiled by the T&T Police Service tell a story that diverges sharply from dominant public perception, Guevarro explained. For 2025, the nation recorded 370 homicides, marking the second-lowest annual homicide total recorded across the last 18 years of available data, stretching from 2008 to the current year. That figure represents a 42% annual drop in homicides, a decline Guevarro noted ranks as the second-largest annual percentage reduction in the world, only trailing the progress seen in El Salvador. Broader crime trends follow the same downward trajectory: reported serious offenses dropped 30% nationwide, falling from 3,413 incidents to 2,397 in comparative reporting periods. Every police division across the country recorded improvements, with drops ranging from a 55% reduction in the North Eastern Division to a 32% reduction in the Southern Division. “These are not opinions or political talking points. These statistics tell a different story,” he emphasized.
Yet despite these measurable gains, Guevarro said public discourse remains dominated by widespread anxiety, a phenomenon he argued is intentionally amplified by actors with self-serving interests. “Fear has become a kind of currency amplified and galvanised by those who profit from insecurity and those who build their platforms on negativity,” he said. Guevarro openly questioned whether distorted narratives around crime stem from deliberate strategic choices: “Is it because their business model depends on crime? Is it because a safer country threatens your influence, your narrative or your revenue streams?”
The economic harm of this inflated fear is already tangible for local businesses, Guevarro warned. Fear pushes businesses to overinvest in unnecessary security measures — from extra alarms and high-resolution cameras to reinforced gates and other specialized gadgets — that drive up operating costs without meaningfully improving safety. Beyond direct costs, widespread anxiety keeps customers at home, erodes workforce confidence, and discourages outside investment, as potential investors focus only on outdated negative narratives rather than the nation’s improving trajectory.
Guevarro also used the address to defend the current state of emergency (SOE) implemented to curb violent crime, pushing back against claims that the extraordinary measure harms legitimate business activity. “The SoE does not negatively affect law-abiding citizens, and there is no interference with business operations. The only people affected are those who terrorise communities, extort businessmen and traffic firearms,” he said. He outlined early results from the SOE, noting that over 42 days of enforcement, police carried out more than 3,500 targeted operations, arrested over 1,500 individuals, and secured charges for 340 people. “These are not the results of failure. They are the results of disruption and relentless enforcement,” he said.
Looking ahead, Guevarro outlined the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service’s ongoing strategy to sustain declining crime rates: the service is prioritizing intelligence-driven operations, expanding modern public safety surveillance infrastructure, and strengthening coordination across multiple government agencies to disrupt criminal networks. “We are not guessing. We are not hoping. We are executing a clear strategy,” he stressed.
In closing, Guevarro appealed to the business community to partner with law enforcement to rebuild public trust, not by ignoring the reality that crime remains an ongoing challenge, but by acknowledging the progress that has already been made. “We are not asking you to ignore the reality. We are asking you to recognise progress, support the systems that are working, and partner with us to accelerate healing,” he said. Reaffirming that the nation’s overall trajectory is positive, Guevarro warned that if unfounded fear continues to dominate national conversation, it will erode all the progress that law enforcement and the nation have worked to achieve. “The truth is, crime is real, but the fear of crime is not always rooted in fact. If fear continues to dominate the national conversation, it will undermine every single piece of progress that we have made,” he said.