De­spite a 50 per cent in­crease in homi­cides in the North-Cen­tral Di­vi­sion last year com­pared to this year, the di­vi­sion­al head says there is an over­all nine per cent re­duc­tion in se­ri­ous crimes.

Speak­ing at yes­ter­day’s Trinidad and To­ba­go Po­lice Ser­vice (TTPS) me­dia brief­ing, di­vi­sion head, Snr Supt Vern­ly Gift, said the in­crease in homi­cides is linked to al­ter­ca­tions and not gang-re­lat­ed mur­ders.

Gift said of­fi­cers in his di­vi­sion will be en­gag­ing in­sti­tu­tions that deal with anger man­age­ment to pre­pare and present pub­lic out­reach pro­grammes to ad­dress the cause of the in­creased killings.