A State of Emergency should be a last resort, according to former Police Commissioner Gary Griffith.

His statement comes via a Facebook post a day after Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar backed a call for an SoE at the inaugural Leader of the Opposition Anti-Crime Town Hall meeting.

Mr Griffith believes there are a number of policies already in existence that, along with political will, would provide successful results.

He indicated that the Anti-Terrorism Act can be instrumental in crippling gang activity in the country, labelling gangs as terrorists.

The Act, he adds, takes away the possibility of bail and could see violators getting up to 25 years in prison.

Mr Griffith says it can also allow for persons who fund and protect gangs to also be imprisoned for up to 20 years.