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Last Updated: Feb 13, 2017 - 1:45:37 AM |
 Hon. Dr. Bernard J. Nottage, M.P. Minister of National Security remarks given at the The Annual Church Service of the Royal Bahamas Police Force Salem Union Baptist Church Taylor Street off East Street 2pm on Sunday, 31st January, 2016:
The Police Act clearly states that the functions of the Police Force includes the maintenance of law and order, the preservation of peace, the prevention and detection of crime, the apprehension of offenders and the enforcement of all laws with which it is charged.
The late J. Edgar Hoover, the first Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, once stated that “No amount of law enforcement can solve a problem that goes back to the family”. Nonetheless, police officers have sometimes been unfairly expected to be the sole solution to the crime problem.
As police officers, you run toward danger, not because you think you are a superhero, but because it is a part of your job, a part of your calling. This is why you all have warrant cards. You put your very lives on the line each day so that the rest of us can rest at night. You serve with courage, loyalty and integrity in order to make our beautiful country safer, something that some Bahamians too often take for granted. Your families and love ones also serve alongside you and we place very high expectations on you that you do your best achieve each day.
I therefore want to begin by letting you know, that on behalf of the Government and people of The Bahamas, we appreciate you and we sincerely thank you for your service to our country.
The security of The Bahamas and its citizens are of top priority for the Government of The Bahamas. We are focused in our actions to do what is needed to bring current crime levels under control.
In order for us to successfully combat the criminal elements of today, we must keep pace with what is happening on our streets, and devise measurable strategies based on an examination of emerging crime trends. We are keenly aware that there are three (3) critical challenges we must overcome in order to impact criminality. These are the availability of Drugs and Guns and the existence of Criminal Gangs. These three (3) ingredients make up the deadly recipe for murder.
Drugs
The regional drug trade is responsible for much of the local violence, making it one of the root causes of crime. Local drug traffickers have transformed into criminal enterprises that steal drugs from each other and compete for limited turf to operate. Local law enforcement agencies, in cooperation with their international drug counterparts, produced tangible results in their interdiction efforts throughout our islands in 2015 with a number of large seizures and arrests that have disrupted the operation of local dealers and traffickers.
We are intensifying an effective dimension to the drug fight, that is: reducing the demand for drugs. If we can dissuade young people from using drugs, then we can lower the demand for drugs, and ultimately, reduce its supply.
The National Anti-Drug Secretariat (NADS) within my Ministry continues to successfully coordinate all local anti-drug stakeholders not only in demand reduction, but supply reductions as well.
Guns
The drug trade drives crime through violence associated with trafficking and contributes to the widespread availability of firearms. Between 2005 and 2014, the police seized at total of 3,328 firearms. Already for this year, you have confiscated 35 firearms and 163 rounds of ammunition. Nonetheless, criminals seem not to find it difficult to get their hands on illegal guns and ammunition.
We must it much more difficult for criminals to cause chaos by getting their hands on deadly firearms. Given the archipelagic nature of our nation, this is a complicated task, but one that we determined to arrest.
Criminal Gangs
Officers, we must also dismantle the criminal gangs in The Bahamas who are bent on disrupting the peace of our nation. “One Order”, “Fire & Theft”, “Mad Ass”, “Mad Fire”, “War Dukes” and all the others must be taken down. Officials throughout our national security agencies have been specially selected and trained both locally and internationally to take on this mandate.
Those of us in positions of authority have an obligation to provide all of you with what is needed by you to carry out your duties even better, and to facilitate the discussions and adjustments required to move us all forward.
Over the past few years, the government has spared no expense to hire, train, and equip police officers. The acquisition of new equipment, vehicles, crime fighting tools and technologies such as the sophisticated 919 communication and automated vehicle locator systems, the electronic monitoring system for accused persons on bail and a municipal CCTV system in parts of New Providence are all tools we have provided to assist you to accomplish your goals. What the Government and people of The Bahamas expect, and indeed demand, from the Royal Bahamas Police Force is all of the resources at its disposal will be effectively and efficiently deployed to provide the optimum results.
These technological advancements have begun paying off as they have been used to assist detectives in the identification of suspects and place them at the scene of a crime. This technology has also been used successfully as evidence in a number of criminal trials, including murder.
Citizen Security & Justice Program
The House of Assembly recently authorized the Government of The Bahamas to borrow $20 million from the Inter-American Development Bank to implement a Citizen Security and Justice Programme. The thrust of this Programme is to address underlying issues associated with crime and violence in order to make our nation safer. This programme will seek the implementation of comprehensive and innovative crime reduction strategies that have been devised to address root causes of crime from a socio-economic crime prevention perspective.
This multifaceted approach will not only include prevention, intervention and suppression tactics but would also address challenges involving prosecution, sentencing and the rehabilitation of persons in conflict with the law. The four (4) key objective of this programme include:
- improving non-violent behaviors which involves the promotion of norms that do not promote violence to solve conflicts;
- increase employability and employment of at risk youths between the ages of 15-25 years; as we are all aware unemployment is a correlate of high crime rates;
- strengthening institutional capabilities of the justice services in terms of swifter case disposal; and criminal justice reforms that will make the system smarter and fairer; and
- reducing the recidivism rate which involves the rehabilitation and reintegration of offenders so that upon their release for prison, they are equipped to lead crime free lives.
I look forward to your full support of the Citizen Security and Justice Programme.
Police Officers, we have invested too much into you and this noble organization to allow those with unbecoming conduct and behavior to bring the good name of the Royal Bahamas Police Force down. If you commit a crime, you will not be given any special treatment. No one is above the law and I want all like-minded officers to be vigilant for signs of “dirty” cops so that they can be placed where they belong.
I also want to encourage any officer who may be experiencing personal challenges that may range from finances to family life, to reach out to your comrades for help. Let us be our brother’s keeper. You will never know how an encouraging word may change the outcome of an officer’s day.
On the subject of promotions, I wish to advise that the Ministry of National Security recently received recommendations for the confirmation of those who have been acting and it is my expectation that the processing of the recommendations will be finalized shortly.
Ladies and gentlemen:
Last year was a challenging year for policing. One of your comrades died in the line of duty, and 2 were shot in the line of duty. When Constable Demeritte put on his uniform for duty that morning, he never knew that it would be doing so for the last time.
If there is one thing that you can take advantage of from this church service is the chance to begin or seek a deeper relationship with God. You must not only thank God for keeping you safe in your dangerous careers in 2015, but also ask him for guidance in 2016.
May God bless the Royal Bahamas Police Force, and God bless the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.
© Copyright 2016 by thebahamasweekly.com
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