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Bahamian Politics Last Updated: Feb 13, 2017 - 1:45:37 AM


FNM: The PLP has Surrendered to the Criminal Elements “Out of Ideas and Out of Time”
By FNM Senator Senator Michael Pintard
Aug 28, 2015 - 2:02:26 PM

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Last night the Minister with responsibility for National Security broke his long silence on the PLP government’s plan to tackle the escalating crimes, especially violent crimes throughout The Bahamas.  His statements confirmed the views of thousands of Bahamians and the FNM- that the Minister is ill suited for this job at this critical juncture and that the Christie led administration lack concrete plans that will impact crime reduction in the short to medium term.

Dr. Nottage and Prime Minister Christie failed to deliver the government’s account of its stewardship of National Security matters including crime management during the recent budget debate.  Given the high level of anxiety and fear among Bahamians and the frequent Crime Advisories issued by other countries whose citizens visit the Bahamas, the nation expected that during the recent 2015-2016 budget debate the Government would have outlined its strategic plan to fight crime.  They failed to do so thereby sending the wrong message to the national and international community about our level of preparedness in tackling the bloodshed in our streets and homes.

Having squandered that opportunity to speak candidly to the nation and the world during the budget debate surely the country expected that the Minister of National Security would have been more than prepared to lay out their plan of action inclusive of the resources they intend to commit to it. We expected to get a sense of the urgency with which the government intends to contain and then dramatically reverse the crime trends that are wreaking havoc in this once peaceful nation.   After all, the PLP has been good at outlining on paper lofty goals as they did with Safe Bahamas-their Crime Fighting plan, in the run up to the last general election.  However to our dismay, Dr Nottage failed to even present a solid plan on paper.

Instead he concentrated on giving a somewhat in depth analysis of the violent crime trends and the victims and perpetrators involved.  The Minister seem to have missed the point that the public is expecting that he and his colleagues and the expensive consultants they have hired would take the analysis they have in their possession and use it to design a strategic plan that shows their intentions and guide their actions in terms of legislation, policies, programmes, projects and partnerships.

Dr Nottage missed the point; the Christie’s government missed the mark and thereby missed another opportunity to rally the country around a set of measurable goals that we must meet if civility is to return to our streets and if a sense of security is to return to government officials in the United States, Canada and Great Britain whose citizens visit us frequently.  Too much is at stake for this government to be unfocused, undisciplined, intellectually lazy and nonchalant at the state we are in relative to crime.

Dr. Nottage must have known that his remarks were weak, devoid of substance and uninspiring which is why he failed to alert the Press and nation about the National Address and then refused to make the full text of his speech available to the members of the Press and the public who, as our leader has pointed out, are engaged heavily in hurricane preparation.

Murder Figures Are Staggering

This government goes to great lengths to undercount figures that reveal their failures or contradict their claims.  The murder figures are so alarming that they have had a rough time concealing the unfortunate reality.  The murder count is nearing 100 which is 20 more than last year’s count this time.  What these figures do not reflect are the suspicious deaths; some of which may later be reclassified as homicides.  The figures also do not account for persons who are still gravely ill and may die in future from complications related to a violent altercation. Furthermore, these figures do not contemplate the possibility of a police shooting eventually resulting in a murder charge if the investigations lead to that conclusion.  Fudging figures should not be an option! We must face the reality of our shameful position as a country and conquer our demons!

Governments are In Part Elected to Lead the Nation in Solving Transcending Problems

Prior to the last election the PLP blamed the FNM for the high rate of crime and only one in the PLP ranks have since partially expressed regrets for that strategy.  The FNM has been careful not to be so shallow and partisan but clearly understands that there is an unmistakable role elected officials must play in addressing law and order in the country.  In this regard our leader had correctly pointed out that the PLP is failing Bahamians miserably. It has not implemented its own Safe Bahamas initiative and has not outlined an alternative.  Furthermore, it has alienated its social partners consciously and unconsciously.

Doctor Hubert Minnis and members of the FNM have outlined several key steps that should be taken immediately to address the emergency we now face. In addition, we have recommended several initiatives that should be implemented right away that would have medium to long-term positive impact.  Among these are the following:

1. Work with community based partners to identify potential problems and existing feuds that may escalate into violent acts and then intervene and resolve such feuds.

2. Increase police presence in hotspot areas to either deter crimes or enable quick response in the event that a crime is committed.

3. Eliminate the habitat where criminality flourishes. This includes eliminating derelict cars, dilapidated houses, overgrown lots and gathering spots for known criminal enterprises.

4. Install CC television in high crime areas to assist police and crime watch groups.

5. Reintroduce emergency tip lines that are confidential and provide quick turnaround response.

6. Deploy intelligence officers throughout the inner cities to proactively diffuse criminal activities and gather invaluable information.

7. Allocate and carefully manage resources required by Police and Defence Force officers so that they can outperform the criminals they are presently competing with.

8. Develop a zero tolerance for crime in the community and among law enforcement officers.

9. Increase the use of police mobile vans.

10. Secure the required mobile forensic vans and outfit the existing forensic labs with 21st century equipment to better assist police and the judiciary in investigations and case preparations.

11. Reduce political interference in the day-to-day operations of Law Enforcement agencies.

12. Eliminate the illegally constituted National Intelligence Agency (NIA).

13. The Government and the Police senior command should work amicably and professionally with the Police Staff Association in ensuring that the officers are not disadvantaged and to ensure that their morale is high.

14. Gunshot detection devices should be investigated and if potentially fruitful and cost-effective they should be added to the police inventory.

15. Emerging technologies such as drones, x-ray machines including those that scan containers, teasers, fully outfitted patrol cars and nationally integrated IT systems for Law Enforcement should all be employed.

16. Engage Faith-based organizations and other social partners to empower their existing anti-crime initiatives or work to help them introduce some.

17. Dr Minnis constantly advocates that we must immediately provide counseling for family and friends of murdered and rape victims to address the anger, shame and desire to take revenge that many of them experience.

18. We must immediately implement a gun amnesty initiative and a reward system for information leading to securing illegal firearms and ammunition. The public would recall Dr Minnis’s “Get the Guns Back Campaign.”

19. Immediately increase border protection and inspections especially pleasure crafts and private planes.

It is the FNM’s position that immediate action is required that should have definite timelines for implementation and review to determine effectiveness.

Furthermore, there are broad initiatives and actions that should be taken that would have medium to long-term benefits. These include:

20. Establishing an inter-sectoral non-partisan Crime Commission. This group would have autonomy to study all aspects of crime challenges we face and make recommendations on actions required to address.

21. Creating a range of employment, skills training, socialization and recreational programmes that especially target 17-35 year olds.  Every inner city community should have such initiatives that are properly funded and professionally administered.

22. Creating and or enhancing recreational spaces, parks and community centers where persons of all ages can be accommodated in a safe and healthy way for individual and group activities.

23. Publishing and distributing a directory of all youth organizations in the country so that every child and young adult can see what is available for them to participate in.

24. Increasing efforts to decrease the case backlog in our courts.

25. Increasing efforts to maintain maximum amount of courts functioning to capacity to ensure timely trials.

26. Improving the Corrections facilities including increasing rehabilitation programmes; separation of first time youth offenders from general prison population; facilitating orderly reintegration into society after time served and we must work out a compensation system for some prison work carried out by inmates and for victims of crimes.

The Free National Movement is working now while in opposition and will work even harder in government to assist other stakeholders in addressing this evil of crime.  We have advocated walk-a-bouts as one step in the ongoing work that must be done in inner city communities.  While crime fighting is not the government’s sole responsibility it is largely up to us to provide the leadership.  We are up to the task.


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