Ramdial: Give Child Protection Unit more resources

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The Member of Parliament for Couva North is calling for the allocation of more resources to the Police Service’s Child Protection Unit (CPU).

According to Ramona Ramdial, the Unit is not fully equipped with the necessary tools nor human resources, to deal with crimes against children. She also recommends that the Children’s Authority be given the authority and manpower to deal with complaints brought to them.

Speaking at a media briefing at her Chase Village, Chaguanas office on Tuesday evening, the Couva North MP said while community members can rally to assist children, more help need to come from the State.

Commenting on the recent spate of murders—including the killing of an 8-year-old girl, MP Ramdial said government must take immediate actions to bolster the Unit in an effort to improve its efficiency.

“I know for a fact there have been complaints from officers who claim they are overworked,” she revealed. “That needs to be dealt with. Government must properly resource the TTPS and allocate funding so the police can do a good job.”

MP Ramdial suggested that government immediately reinstate the monetary support that would have been given to disabled children through the Social Development Ministry, known as the Ministry of the People and Social Development under the Peoples’ Partnership Government. She challenged the current Social Development minister to lobby Cabinet to make this happen.

“We saw yesterday the terrible condition those kids are living in. We saw it was a single parent who murdered his daughter and it speaks to the stresses in society,” she said. “The grant we would have given would have lent comfort and assisted poor families.”

The Couva North MP also expressed concern at the rising murder rate in the country, noting that more than seven murders had taken place over the past few days.