Citizens residing in developments run by the House Development Corporation (HDC), may soon feel a little bit safer.
This, as the army and police are reportedly involved in talks with the Minister of Housing, Camille Robinson-Regis, to develop a plan to assist in improving security and eradicating criminal elements in all the HDC communities.
According to reports, those discussions reportedly took place days before Saturday’s deadly stabbings at Oropune Gardens, Piarco and followed the mass shooting at Harpe Place, Port-of-Spain, on March 16 in which five people were killed.
In the most recent incident, HDC’s Managing Director Jayselle Mc Farlane issued a statement following the killings of a father and son at the corporation’s apartment complex at Oropune Gardens, Piarco on Saturday.
In the statement, the Minister of Housing and Urban Development expressed condolences to the relatives of Imtiaz and Imraz Mohammed.
Minister Robinson-Regis described the incident as unfortunate and preventable.
She said, “HDC strives to provide safe communities for all citizens who are encouraged to live in peace and comfort.”
The Minister also made a call for “all residents in the various HDC communities to find amicable solutions to problems instead of resorting to violence.”
But HDC’s managing director said steps had already been set in motion to address issues of safety and security at housing developments.
Mc Farlane, in a GML interview, said they were adopting a two-pronged approach. She said a security plan is being worked on at the ministerial level and discussions are taking place with the heads of various arms of national security.
She added while no one could predict when someone would engage in criminal or violent behaviour, the HDC has recognised the need to reduce or prevent the incidents.
“There is a plan afoot to see how best we can mitigate the circumstances, or the re-occurrence of any negative security and or gang issues so we are looking at putting something in place pretty soon,” she explained.
She said the HDC is currently working on short, mid and long-term preventative security measures which will soon be rolled out. Mc Farlane said she could not provide details of the security measures just yet.