Editing Port of Spain (section)

==== Crime ====
{{Further|Crime in Trinidad and Tobago}}

Port of Spain and its immediate environs have a higher crime rate than any other part of Trinidad. Homicides countrywide rose from fewer than 50 in the 1980s, to 97 in 1998, then to 360 in 2006 (30 murders per 100,000 persons). It rose to approximately 500 in 2008 but decreased significantly in 2010 and 2011.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ttps.gov.tt/Statistics/tabid/141/Default.aspx |title= Trinidad and Tobago Police Service website |publisher=ttpos.gov.tt |access-date=26 June 2010}}</ref> For the year 2012, the rate reached 354 murders per 100,000 persons, but with a state of emergency being imposed by government for approximately three months. For the year 2013 the rate reached 407. Until July of the 2014, the number reaches 207 homicides.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ttcrime.com/stats.php |title= Trinidad and Tobago Police Service website |publisher=ttcrime.com|access-date=7 July 2014}}</ref>

Many murders are drug and gang related, especially in the depressed communities of East Port of Spain. The police administration has responded by improving the working conditions of officers, increasing the use of forensic evidence and surveillance technology (CCTV cameras) as well as hiring overseas experts.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ttps.gov.tt/Media/PressReleases/tabid/70/Default.aspx |title=Trinidad and Tobago Crime |publisher=ttps.gov.tt |access-date=26 June 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111009082823/http://www.ttps.gov.tt/Media/PressReleases/tabid/70/Default.aspx |archive-date=9 October 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Reports of kidnappings for ransom which were on the rise a few years ago have declined dramatically since 2006.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ctntworld.com/LocalArticles.aspx?id=27648 |title=Kidnappings for ransom down |publisher=ctntworld.com |date=13 May 2011 |access-date=26 June 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110516221538/http://www.ctntworld.com/LocalArticles.aspx?id=27648 |archive-date=16 May 2011 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=12649870 |title= Police Tackle Kidnappings |publisher=NPR |date=17 August 2007 |access-date=26 June 2010}}</ref> However, theft and violent crimes remain prevalent to this date, while crime and the perception of crime continues to hamper the economic prospects of the city.<ref name="ttparliament.org"/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.trinidadexpress.com/commentaries/We_must_get_serious_about_combatting_crime-124472079.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120913055646/http://www.trinidadexpress.com/commentaries/We_must_get_serious_about_combatting_crime-124472079.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=13 September 2012 |title=We must get serious about combatting crime |work=Trinidad Express |date=24 June 2011 |access-date=26 June 2010 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.economist.com/node/10903343|title=A Caribbean crime wave |newspaper=The Economist|date=20 March 2008 |access-date=26 June 2010}}</ref>

In 2022, the U.S. Department of State updated the Trinidad and Tobago travel advisory first to Level 2: Exercise increased precautions and then to Level 3: Reconsider travel in November 2022. Violent crime was cited as the reason for this advisory, specifically kidnapping and terrorism as well as shootings in Port of Spain specifically. The advisory specifies that U.S. government personnel are prohibited from travelling to Laventille, Beetham, Sea Lots, Cocorite, and the interior of Queens’ Park Savannah; after dark, they are prohibited from travelling to Downtown Port of Spain, Fort George Overlook and all beaches.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Trinidad and Tobago Travel Advisory |url=https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories/trinidad-and-tobago-travel-advisory.html |access-date=2022-11-11 |website=travel.state.gov}}</ref>