Bahamians cannot have a crime free society while harbouring the criminal in the bosom of the family

Bahamian society must make a decision on crime

tribune242 editorial



THE hard working police force are today in the unenviable position of being "damned if you do, and damned if you don't."

The public wants the criminal removed from the streets. However, when he is removed, the next word the police have is that he's out on bail, up to more mischief, and the chase starts all over again. The public wants guns removed from society, yet society wants selective justice applied to those who are caught with an unlicensed firearm. On the other hand, the police want tougher sentences. For example, in England possession of an unlicensed firearm could mean five years in prison.

Police know that firearms are brought in on boats, even pleasure craft. "However, when we go to search these boats, we are accused of harassing boaters," said one officer, "so we back off, but we know that there are guns aboard those boats."

In other words society can't have its cake and eat it too. If they want the country cleared of illegal guns, the police will have to be free to search, and the courts should be obliged to prosecute.

For example, the police were criticised for the precautions they took to protect the House, the Prime Minister, MPs and members of the public during the recent Bay Street demonstrations against the sale of BTC to Cable & Wireless. They were condemned for bringing the dogs out "against the people." However, if something had gone wrong they would have been criticised -- and investigated -- for not having taken every possible precaution to anticipate an emergency.

A spokesperson for the various groups said that the objective was to stage a peaceful demonstration, however, some protesters were in a "militant" mood. And it was that mood -- with threats of creating a "small Egypt" -- that made the police prepare for the worst.

Despite the unions' attempts to insist that it was a union demonstration, the unions' presence was obliterated by political activists. However, Fox Hill MP Fred Mitchell made no bones about what the demonstration was all about. The fight to have BTC remain in Bahamian hands is a political one, he said, and all who oppose the sale of the company to Cable and Wireless should band together.

Senator Dion Foulkes, speaking in the Senate, said that several "PLP MPs, ratified candidate and senior party officers were active in that demonstration which became extremely unruly and if it were not for the fine men and women of the Royal Bahamas Police Force, Bahamians could have been hurt, indeed, one person was hurt: Mr Capron, who later publicly thanked the police for coming to his aid."

Mr Foulkes identified "Melanie Griffin, Bernard Nottage, Ryan Pinder, Alfred Gray, Obie Wilchcombe and Barbara Pierre, Secretary General of the PLP and former PLP Chairman Minky Isaacs" as among those at the rally.

"Shane Gibson," he said, "who the night before the demonstration was seen all over the southwest of New Providence on the back of a truck with a blow horn telling people to come to Bay Street.

"I suspect that they have distanced themselves from this demonstration because it was a total and absolute flop," said the senator.

Mr Mitchell also criticised government for "attacking" union leaders at that demonstration, who, he said, are "simply acting in the best interests of their members."

Mr Mitchell conveniently forgets the three-week teachers strike of 1981 -- under the Pindling government -- when teachers were also trying to improve the conditions in the schools and raise the standard of the teaching profession. Not only were the police and the dogs brought out against the teachers, but there were snipers on the various roof tops with a fire engine standing by, possibly to use the water hoses in case of an emergency. Several teachers were arrested. Opposition Leader Norman Solomon told members in the House on January 7, 1981 that the reason they were discussing the teachers' strike in the House that day was because it was facing a "certain amount of insurrection" below in the public square. He blamed it on "14 years of continuous mismanagement of the economy."

"Those were the days," said a teacher who had participated in the strike, "when professionals of similar qualifications in the civil service were making 30 per cent more than their counterparts in the teaching profession."

The former teacher said that when the teachers decided to strike in 1981 they did so for what they believed in, fully realising the consequences of their actions. Their pay was docked for the full three weeks of the strike. They did not complain, because when they decided to strike they knew that it meant loss of pay.

Today the BTC unions withdrew their labour, fully knowing the consequences, but not expecting government to take any action against them. The teacher failed to understand their reasoning or why they should condemn government for enforcing the rules. They withdrew their labour. If they were sincere in their protest, they should have expected not to have been paid.

It is the same with the police. Bahamians want society to be crime free, but they do not want to suffer the consequences of having a family member, who is causing some of the problems, suffer the consequences. It is now up to Bahamians to decide what they really want.

They cannot have a crime free society while harbouring the criminal in the bosom of the family. The Tribune has great respect for those families who take one of their own to the police station to "turn him in." Those are the families who are the Bahamas' solid citizens - it is a pity that there are not more like them. It is only then that the Bahamas will have any hope of reducing its crime rate.

April 12, 2011

tribune242 editorial

Bahamas Blog International

Lots of gun crime in The Bahamas

Driving down crime
The Nassau Guardian Editorial


There are many parts to the overall strategy of driving down crime.

Aggressive policing is a must. It helps as well if police officers work within neighborhoods to build relationships so residents are more comfortable talking with police officers before and after a crime is committed.

It’s also important that special task forces go after particular crimes or zero in on high-crime areas.

There’s another part of the strategy that’s important, and that has to do with reducing the number of guns on our streets.

According to the 2010 crime statistics released last week, firearms were used in 69 of the 94 murders recorded. Firearms were also used in other serious crimes, such as armed robberies, housebreakings and burglaries, and in many cases, threats of death.

In 2010, 351 illegal firearms and 6,224 rounds of ammunition were seized. Those figures are up over the year before. In 2009, 312 illegal firearms and 4,388 rounds of ammunition were seized.

Commissioner of Police Ellison Greenslade has even agreed that it is time for the existing Firearms Unit to become an autonomous body given the high number of gun-related crimes.

In this space last week, The Nassau Guardian called for the government and judiciary to consider the establishment of a Gun Court to expedite the trials of suspects of gun-related crime.

Attorney General John Delaney announced on Friday that a Gun Court would be created in an attempt to ensure that those found with illegal firearms are quickly prosecuted. Gun charges will be isolated from other charges an individual may face.

The goal is to ensure that those found in possession of illegal firearms are incarcerated rather than being allowed to reoffend.

“The government is determined to make a full-frontal assault on firearm offenses,” said Delaney at Friday’s press conference, which was also attended by Minister of National Security Tommy Turnquest and senior officers from the Royal Bahamas Police Force, and took place following a meeting with Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham on gun crime.

A special inter-agency task force has also been set up to address the issue of illegal firearm possession.

The government should be commended for establishing the special court and task force, but it should not stop there.

Our gun laws are reasonably strict when it comes to gun ownership and are among the toughest in the region. The maximum penalty for illicit possession of firearms is five years imprisonment and a fine of $10,000.

The Gun Court will help ensure that suspects are quickly prosecuted, but laws must also be beefed up to ensure that individuals found guilty of such crimes do not get off easy. Special legislation is also needed to punish those found in possession of illegal assault rifles and machine guns.

We have a lot of gun crime in this country.

But a Gun Court, if operated properly, should not only help get some of those guns off the streets, but also save lives and family trauma.

That’s an important part of any crime-fighting strategy.

1/31/2011

The Nassau Guardian Editorial

Bahamas Blog International