Over the last two decades, crime and violence have been major issues impacting Trinidad and Tobago (McCree, 1998; Mastrofski and Lum, 2008; Kochel, 2009). Between 1996 and 2006, the homicide rate increased by 247 percent (Ministry of Planning, Housing and the Environment, 2008). In 2013, the murder rate was 31 per 100,000, down from its record high of 42 per 100,000 in 2008 (Nicolas, 2009; U.S. Department of State, 2014). These statistics are consistent with residents' perceptions of street violence in high crime communities. As violence in Trinidad and Tobago remained high, limited scholarship attempted to decipher the causes of violence within the nation. Using 30 semi-structured interviews with stakeholders in high crime communities, and ethnographic research conducted over 7 years, this paper attempts to understand the forms of violence that exist in working class, high crime communities. Policy implications will be discussed.