PRIME Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar SC says she will not stand idly by and allow criminals to terrorise the public, as she endorsed the state of emergency (SoE) to cut crime “at the root.”

In a media statement issued on the afternoon of July 18, Persad-Bissessar reaffirmed her government’s commitment to tackling crime head-on. Persad Bissessar insisted that she and her government were doing everything necessary to ensure that people felt safe in their homes and in public places, such as workplaces, schools, and places of worship.

She said that after receiving an intelligence report from Police Commissioner Allister Guevarro on July 17, she immediately directed the Attorney General to take the requisite steps to advise the President, Christine Kangaloo, to declare the SoE.