There won’t be any collaboration between the Prime Minister and former Police Commissioner Gary Griffith as it relates to tacking T&T’s mounting crime problem.

In the Lower House on Wednesday, Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley responded to the former Commissioner’s offer to work alongside the government and Opposition to go after criminals.

“Madame Speaker, as chairman of the National Security Council of Trinidad and Tobago, I have very good reasons not to meet with Gary Griffith under any circumstances. And in so far as meeting with the Opposition is concerned, I meet with them all the time in this chamber in front of you, Madame Speaker, and they have obstructed every single attempt we made to fight crime in this country,” Rowley said in response to a question from Naparima MP Rodney Charles.

On Sunday, Mr. Griffith revealed that he had written to both the Prime Minister and Opposition Leader offering to collaborate in the fight against crime, calling on the leaders to set aside their political differences. 

Responding to the Prime Minister’s sentiment, Griffith issued a statement on Wednesday evening saying the Prime Minister did not just reject him but also the citizens who were in support of his proposal. 

“Our nation is at its darkest over with record number of murders and a scourge of criminality that appears out of the control of the powers that be and at a time where we should encourage all hands on deck,” Griffith said.