This country stands at a fragile crossroads. After years marked by violence, fear and deepening mistrust, citizens are yearning for something more enduring than emergency powers and political gamesmanship. They are yearning for a lasting peace rooted in unity, justice and responsibility.
Divisive politics, sharpened rhetoric and the constant search for partisan advantage have taken a toll on the national psyche. The country needs leadership that inspires calm, not inflames tensions, to steady the nation, not pull it further apart.
That is why leaders on both sides of the political divide must do better. Crime is not a People’s National Movement problem nor a United National Congress problem; it is a Trinidad and Tobago problem. Public safety cannot be effectively addressed through blame, threats or racialised narratives. It demands cooperation, humility and a genuine bipartisan commitment to solutions that outlast electoral cycles.
The debate surrounding the State of Emergency (SoE) underscores this moment of reckoning. Constitutional attorney Gregory Delzin has correctly reminded the nation that “behaviour” alone cannot justify the declaration of emergency powers. The Constitution requires the existence of fresh circumstances that endanger public safety, not political threats or ultimatums. While the Prime Minister retains the authority to advise the President to proclaim a SoE, that power must be exercised with restraint, evidence and respect for constitutional rights.
Delzin’s warning about credibility should not be dismissed lightly. To proclaim successive states of emergency in rapid succession risks signalling that previous measures failed, eroding public confidence and inviting legal challenges. Even under emergency rule, detention and arrest must be grounded in specific, provable reasons. Threatening families and associates who are not implicated in criminal activity has no place in a constitutional democracy and only deepens mistrust between the State and its citizens.
At the same time, concerns about a resurgence of violence after the end of the SoE are real. Criminologist Dr Randy Seepersad has noted that strong statements and the credible threat of lawful enforcement can still have a deterrent effect. But deterrence alone is not a strategy. Emergency powers were never meant to be a permanent fixture of governance; they are, at best, a bridge.
That bridge must now lead to sustainable, lawful and inclusive crime-fighting approaches. The proposed Zones of Special Operations (ZOSO) framework offers one such path — combining targeted policing with social interventions, data-driven strategies and community support. As Pastor Clive Dottin observed, the country needs a transition from emergency rule to normalcy, not a vacuum that criminal elements are eager to exploit.
What is most troubling in recent days, however, is the turn toward inflammatory and unsubstantiated claims that link crime trends to race and political affiliation. Such rhetoric, condemned by civil society groups, risks reopening old wounds and creating new ones. In a society as diverse and interconnected as ours, this is a dangerous road.
Peace will not be restored by threats or theatrics. It will be restored when leaders choose unity over division, evidence over accusation, and collaboration over confrontation. Trinidad and Tobago deserves leadership that is firm yet fair, calm yet decisive — leadership that remembers that its ultimate duty is not to party, but to people.
Let peace reign. Let wisdom guide. And let us all rise to the gravity of this moment.
