PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, Nov 11, CMC – Police Commissioner Allister Guevarro Wednesday said he is prepared to fully utilise all within his “toolkitt” as the Maloney Buildings Housing Development along the East West corridor Tuesday night became the first community to be declared a closed area under the Special Operations Act, 2026.
As a result, residents in that area are now subject to a 9.00 pm to 5.00 am (local time) nightly curfew.
“The operations of the police with regards to the Special Operations Act are dictated and I want the public to hear this, by your behaviour.If people baheve themselves, that is one piece of legislation I had in my toolkitt that I wished I did not have to use.
“Honestly, I wished I did not have to use it, but just know, I am prepared to use it,” Guevarro told a news conference.
The declaration was made by President Christine Kangaloo through Legal Notice No. 847, dated November 10, while a separate order, Legal Notice No. 848, imposed the curfew on the community.
However, opposition legislator and member of Parliament for the Maloney area, Camille Robinson-Regis accused the Kamla Persad-Bissessar government of imposing restrictions without adequately informing those affected.
“Without a clear communication to residents, Maloney is now under lockdown, leaving law-abiding citizens frightened, confused and unsure whether they need permits simply to get home,” Robinson-Regis said.
“I have received calls from residents in a state of panic. Even the police reportedly do not have clear information on the process, yet residents are being told the community is locked down from 9 pm to 5 am.”
But Guevarro told reporters that when the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) “got the green light to proceed with the operation, one of the first things that we did, we took pains to get a loudspeaker, place it in a police vehicle and announce to the persons in the area.
He said not everyone has a television and even though we live in a modern area “not everybody has access to a phone like you and the internet.
“So we announced it where it needed to be announced within the said community.Those persons who are on the outside, if I know that I am in a particular area carrying out a operation, I will not announce it to the public so that the persons who are outside and coming in would avoid coming.
“I want you to come. Come into my palace, said the spider to the fly. So when they get in, then they will understand what the situation is,” Guevarro said, adding that the police have established two micro police units on site on both ends of Maloney “for the purpose of interacting as liaison centres for the community.
“I also have police officers and members of the Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force stationed around. Persons can move around freely during the day.The curfew is at night,” the topcop said, adding “if you are leaving the community or entering the community, you are subjected to particular treatment by the police.
“…so let us understand that the act is there for the protection of everyone, those inside of the community and those outside of the community. And, you know, I’m always a little bit, you know, pleased to hear the media ask these questions, but I hear a deafening silence…when the gunman was shooting out behind the innocent people in the car park on Monday, you know, it was a footnote on the media”.
Under Section 11 of the legislation, the President may declare an area within a policing district a closed area where there are reasonable grounds to believe that public safety and peace are threatened by escalating violent crime, including murders, shootings, kidnappings or gang-related activity.
The law also identifies the prevalence of illegal firearms, ammunition, weapons or explosives, as well as gang control or intimidation of communities, as grounds for such a declaration.
In the case of Maloney, the order states that the President was satisfied, on reasonable grounds, that public safety and peace within the area, which falls under Policing District Two, were threatened.
The Police Commissioner told reporters that immediately following the proclamation of the legislatin, senior police officers were sent for refresher training in human rights, as well as all the other core areas identified in the act.
“At present in the Police Academy, we have other persons as well going through the said training. So training is always something that the TTPS engages in constantly to keep our officers sharp.”
He said that persons wishing to enter the closed zone during the curfew hours would have to “walk into the micro police unit and apply for a permit. They will be able to issue you the permit.
“The other is if you are going to visit, our police officers have something they call discretion that we utilise. Even though last night, a curfew was in effect, it didn’t mean to say we stopped people from entering the homes.
“We spoke to the members of the public as they were entering the community, we let them know what was going on, because we are aware, they were not aware that we were coming there, the element of surprise. And thus, after having engaged with them, they left with the knowledge knowing that okay, if I’m leaving five in the morning, the police officers know that I’m leaving, they would treat with me with that discretion,” Guevarro said, adding that he police would not be discposing where the other zones of operations would be conducted.
CMC/kj/ir/2026