...we need to restore the quick connection between crime and punishment in The Bahamas... And we need to ensure that the people who lead the critical divisions of the police force and the AG’s Office related to investigating and prosecuting serious crimes are up to the task

The prime minister’s national crime address

thenassauguardian editorial

So much has been said in recent years about crime in The Bahamas. There have been four murder records in five years.  Over that same five-year period more that 13,000 cases of housebreaking have been reported.  Most of those homes were broken into in New Providence.

Bahamians are fearful.  Bahamians are not sure that their law enforcement agencies and politicians are up to the task to fix the problem.

Opposition leader Perry Christie and his party seem to understand that crime is likely the most significant issue on the minds of most Bahamians.  Christie, who is not known for leading the way, got out ahead of Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham in August.  He made a national address on crime and offered solutions on behalf of his party.

Some of the ideas Christie presented had promise; others did not.  However, in speaking to the country formally on the issue as the opposition leader and a former prime minister, Christie indicated that crime was an issue that must now be addressed and debated at the leadership level.

Ingraham said Sunday he would make a national address on crime Monday coming.  His address will come almost six months after he promised during the national address on public infrastructure to speak about the growing crime problem in The Bahamas.

Ingraham made the crime address pledge at Lynden Pindling International Airport as he arrived back in The Bahamas from an official visit to Washington, D.C.  He made the pledge after reporters asked him crime related questions.  It is unclear if Ingraham had previously decided to make the national address or if he made the pledge in an effort to end the questioning.

Nonetheless, the address is needed and it will be interesting to hear what the prime minister has to say.

Ingraham has a fine line to negotiate.  He will likely mention the millions of dollars his government has provided to the various agencies of the criminal justice system.  He will likely also bring up the refurbishment of the courts.

Ingraham and his government have also gone further.  Since coming to office in 2007 the chief justice has been changed, there have been three commissioners of police, two directors of public prosecution and at least five commanders at the Central Detective Unit.

His government has tried and it continues to try.  But, as the numbers show, the crime problem is worsening.

What the PM needs to address is the competency of the leadership of his law enforcement agencies and whether or not certain agencies are adequately staffed with competent people.

Police investigate serious crime and lawyers from the Office of the Attorney General prosecute the cases.  If the cases are poor and the prosecutors are less than capable, and there are too few of them, then few people will go to jail for the crimes they commit.

And, if the AG’s Office cannot bring forward cases fast enough, or if it does not want to because the cases were poorly prepared by police, then judges will grant bail to accused persons who would then be free to offend again.

There is too much talk now about everybody doing a good job.  In this time of civility we say the commissioner of police and his officers are doing a good job; we say the National Security Ministry is doing a good job; we say prosecutors are doing their best.  If police and prosecutors are doing their best, and the crime situation in The Bahamas is worsening, then those officers and prosecutors are not up to the task to help reverse the trend.

As we mentioned in a previous editorial, leadership is needed on the crime issue.

The prime minister must pledge bold action and show passion when he addresses his people.  The money spent so far has not yet led to any meaningful results.  We need to know what is next.

Simply put, we need to restore the quick connection between crime and punishment.  And we need to ensure that the people who lead the critical divisions of the police force and the AG’s Office related to investigating and prosecuting serious crimes are up to the task.

If they are not, something else should be found for them to do.

Sep 28, 2011

thenassauguardian editorial

Caribbean 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

The Bahamian public is growing weary of the public relations exercises of the Royal Bahamas Police Force (RBPF)...

Operation PR?
thenassauguardian editorial


Not long after ending a record-breaking year for murders, The Bahamas has started 2011 on the same sorrowful note.

Criminals have continued their merciless assault. And while murders continue to grab headlines, there have already for the year also been numerous reports of shootings, stabbings, armed robberies and other serious crimes.

Added to this has been an obvious rise in the fear of crime among citizens, many of whom will probably never be victims.

This state of crisis has placed untold pressure on Commissioner of Police Ellison Greenslade, whose first year at the helm of the Royal Bahamas Police Force has perhaps been the most challenging of his career.

Greenslade and his team are pressured to act.

So it came as no surprise when this week armed squads of officers hit the streets of New Providence in their first major crackdown for 2011.

While the force should be supported and commended for its efforts to keep our communities safe, we wonder if “Operation Rapid Strike” — as the commissioner dubbed it — is little more than a public relations initiative designed to help ease the anxiety that has gripped so many residents.

It seemed foolhardy for the commissioner to announce the operation before it happened, and may have amounted to a message to criminals to go into hiding along with their deadly weapons until the commissioner announces the end of Rapid Strike.

On Wednesday, reporters were called to a news conference at police headquarters to watch the weapon-toting squads hop into their vehicles and fan out across New Providence.

It was obviously intended to send the message of a strong police force with a police chief totally in control of the situation.

But did it?

Greenslade said he was pleased to announce to the public that the operation was in response to the numerous reports of murders, shootings, stabbings and other serious crimes.

“This operation has as its main objective the mission to seek out persons involved in murders, armed robberies, possession of illegal firearms, stealing of vehicles, stabbings, break-ins and all other criminal activity,” he said, adding that suspects in recent murders were being specially targeted.

Greenslade pledged to restore peace and civility to our communities, and added that citizens should be “elated that we have heard from them in a very real way and that we have pulled out, as we said, all the stops.”

But it seemed that police may have risked giving away the element of surprise, unless of course the commissioner assumed that the criminals are not prone to watching the evening news.

The force must be at war with the criminal element in a way more forceful than at any other time in our post-Independence history.

In war, the enemy needs no notice.

We certainly hope that Rapid Strike was more than just a show for the cameras, and a headline-grabbing initiative.

We await the final outcome of this special operation. On its first night, 14 people were taken into custody for various alleged offenses. The commissioner must now ensure that proper cases are put together against those detained. Our force is good at arresting but not as good at case preparation.

We think in future it might be best for the commissioner to send his armed squads out without the glare of the cameras and report on the results once the operation has ended.

The public is growing weary of the public relations exercises of the police force. A result-oriented approach might be more welcomed.

1/21/2011

thenassauguardian editorial

Bahamas Blog International

Leslie Miller - former cabinet minister and crime victim backs call for capital punishment to resume in The Bahamas in the face of a "severe crisis"

Former MP Strongly Backs Capital Punishment
By Macushla N. Pinder:



A former cabinet minister and victim of crime is strongly backing the call for capital punishment to resume in The Bahamas in the face of a "severe crisis" in the country.

According to businessman and former Blue Hills MP, Leslie Miller, Bahamians are being terrorised in their own country and something has to be done about it.

"The police do a fabulous job, so the problem isn’t the police, it’s the court system and those persons who are unafraid of the law…We must implement capital punishment and the cat o’nine tail and whatever other action is necessary to stem the flow of crime" Mr. Miller suggested when he appeared as a guest on Love 97’s daily talk show "Issues of the Day" with host Algernon Allen.

"…. It bothers me that we can allow 12 men to sit in London and decide the fate of people who are grappling with situations beyond the realm of what they face. A government is elected for and on behalf the people. So, if you cannot or are not prepared to do your job, you should resign as a Member of Parliament. I don’t see the Members of Parliament on both sides speaking out against crime or calling a special session of parliament to say we are going to deal with this once and for all."

Mr. Miller’s son Mario was found dead in a bushy area near Super Value Food Store in the Winton area on June 2002.

According to reports, he was stabbed 18 times about the body.

Evidence coming out of the case revealed that the official cause of death was a stab wound to the lungs and a chop to the neck, resulting in acute blood loss.

The Crown alleged that brothers Ricardo Miller, 30, also known as Tamar Lee, and his younger brother Ryan, 24, intentionally caused Miller’s death.

However, the first and second trials ended in a retrial.

Yet another retrial has been ordered.

So far this year, the country has recorded 55 homicides. The last two occurred over the holiday weekend.

On Friday, Slyvannus Williams, 45, was reportedly in an altercation with a woman believed to be his wife when she allegedly stabbed him in the parking lot of Green Parrot Restaurant and Bar on East Bay Street.

Just over 24 hours later, Exuma resident Cely Smith was killed.

According to police, four dreadlocked gunmen shot the 45-year-old Stuart Manor resident around 7:30 a.m. Sunday.

It is crimes like these that have made the call for the death penalty almost deafening at times.

"He who feels it, knows it. When you have to go to the hospital to identify your loved one or see them in the street murdered, then have someone talk foolishness around your head about hanging or any lethal injection, what about that person who would never take another breath? You would never see them get married. They would never have a grandson or granddaughter," he said.

"God gave us life and he is the one who is supposed to take us home. Anyone who interferes must be prepared to give their own [life]….This foolishness of going up to Fox Hill [Her Majesty’s Prison] and getting fat at the expense of the state is utter garbage."

But not everyone believes the death penalty is the solution. In fact, many argue that executing a convicted murderer would not cause crime to decrease.

But, Mr. Miller said the offender who kills would not kill again.

The country’s unabated crime wave has also driven up the cost of doing business.

In fact, Bahamas Chamber of Commerce President Khaalis Rolle recently told a local daily "many companies are scared to do business after dark."

Mr. Miller agreed.

"We have 10 police officers (at Mario’s Bowling and Entertainment Palace) on the weekends because we saw situations arising," he said.

"…This costs us between $8,000 and $10,000 per month….This is one of the drawbacks of operating in a society where crime is so prevalent... The criminals are getting bolder."

Earlier this year, Mr. Miller was robbed at gunpoint in broad daylight.

Two men reportedly exited a gold Chevy Impala, put two guns to his head and told him to hand over the money or he would be killed.

The two men reportedly got away with nearly $30,000.

"When a man has a gun pointed at you, you are not in charge. Don’t act as if you are in charge. You can make the money back. Think about your life, your loved ones, those who depend on you," he said.

"You can’t be the hero. In every movie, the hero normally dies at the end. I’m not trying to be the hero."

August 4th, 2010

jonesbahamas

Bahamas Blog International

Bahamian Communities have called for police to stop the bloodshed

'Stop the bloodshed'

It is also up to the Bahamian People in The Bahamas to ensure the place in which they live is a community

By MEGAN REYNOLDS
Tribune Staff Reporter
mreynolds@tribunemedia.net:

A spike in murders once again has everyone on the alert.  Communities have called for police to stop the bloodshed.

They want to see more officers on the streets preventing the murders - like the six that occurred in a space of just six days last week - from happening in the first place.

This is a challenge police will struggle to face on their own,

Commissioner of Police Ellison Greenslade explained as he sought to reassure residents of Pinewood in a walkabout with his senior officers on Tuesday...

But as residents saw the convoy of shiny police cars crawling through their corners with a small fleet of media vehicles, they closed their doors.

One young man came out to talk to Mr Greenslade, but upon seeing the magnitude of the procession, the swarm of police officers, and reporters with television cameras, others ducked back in behind the safety of their own four walls.

Talking to the police does not look good in Pinewood.

A man was gunned down here just days ago and that was the latest in a string of violent killings over the years.

Although the majority of people say they feel safe in Pinewood (85 per cent according to MP Byran Woodside's August 2009 survey), it is also well known that being too cosy with law-enforcement does not make you popular with "the people in power."

By "the people in power" they do not mean the police, or Mr Woodside and the political big-wigs, but the young men, and less frequently women, who are arrested, charged and arraigned in connection with crimes as serious as firearm possession, armed robbery, or violent assaults, and then walk freely from jail, their bail bonds secured by self-interested lawyers.

They are released and welcomed back into the working-class families of Pinewood Gardens, and other neighbourhoods like it.

These criminals are not foreign to us, Mr Greenslade said.

They are not from the immigrant Haitian or Jamaican communities who Bahamians so willingly blame for our social strains and rising violent crime.

None of the six murders over six days bear signs of Jamaican-style "yardie" killings.

The deaths were not connected to any particular ethnic group or nationality.

They were simply committed by people with "evil in their hearts", the Commissioner concluded.

He also said the bloodshed is not confined to "hot spots" or no-go danger zones to be avoided in order to avoid gunfire.

No, the senseless killings, the unconscionable shootings, such as that of pregnant Marie Claude-Saintilien, 23, and of 30-year-old Fresh Creek, Andros, resident Tevaris Minnis, the week before last, are not indicative of good neighbourhoods turning bad.

The deaths are not happening as a result of an influx of violent foreigners carrying out an attack in an otherwise peace-loving nation.

No, these violent crimes are being committed by people in our own families, living in our homes and in our neighbour's homes, in suburban areas like Pinewood Gardens, where they are not only known to us, but they are known to their local police officers, detectives, prosecutors, magistrates and prison guards.

"These are people known to you," Mr Greenslade said.

"These are our relatives, and they are in and out of the system, having been arrested and then allowed to walk freely in our communities. That is very powerful."

How or why those suspected of such serious crimes are released into communities at the risk of being a menace to society - which the Commissioner asserts they are - begs a bigger question and one the Commissioner was unwilling, or unable, to answer.

But his unnerving assertion, said to reassure Pinewood residents and other neighbours of the most heinous crimes that it is not their community that poses a threat but people in it, is still not the most comforting of statements.

Nor is it any comfort to know many of those who have been killed have also been through the wheels of the criminal justice system.

Because several of them are also due to appear as witnesses in court, or like the four-year-old boy shot in Pinewood recently, they just happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Perhaps Mr Greenslade wanted to somewhat diminish the power these bailed criminals have by showing the people being killed are also not strangers to crime.

It certainly puts a damper on the attraction of the gangster lifestyle presented by these freed suspects who serve as examples of just how much Bahamians can get away with.

Sadly they become role models for the most vulnerable youngsters who lack the support and protection of good parents and guardians who might tell them any different, Pinewood resident Angelo King, 21, told me last week.

They show these youth how easy it is to get by in a bad economy if armed with a handgun.

Dealing drugs, robbing people in the street and breaking into their homes at opportune times to steal whatever may be worth selling will surely help you get by without having to worry about the high unemployment rate, taxes, traffic, and all those other hassles and stresses associated with having a job and being a functional and productive member of society.

And with no repercussions - at least not in the criminal justice system - it would seem to many a smart path to choose.

Children as young as 10 are drawn into housebreaking rings and trained to steal anything worth selling instead of going to school.

Mr King said the only thing that saved him from the influence of this path was his basketball talent, which he developed and worked hard at to earn a university scholarship and then graduate degree in psychology.

He said more positive role models are needed, and the police Commissioner tried to live up to this need when he invited the 4ft members of the Bahamas American Football Alliance team to Police Headquarters to meet some positive role models.

He explained how it is possible to carry a gun on the right side of the law and still get to play in Nassau's great game of the Wild West.

Certainly police appear to be stepping up to the plate as the Commissioner responds to calls from the public to speak out when they need reassurance, and shake-up the force as necessary, increasing the number of detectives on the homicide squad from two to five in recent months.

Duty officers have taken more than 133 illegal firearms and over 2,600 rounds of ammunition off the streets since January.

And as the rate of crime continues to plateau at a stomach-churning level, with the occasional peaks and troughs making us feel either less sick or more so, police are consistently charging suspected criminals and bringing them before the courts.

As of Friday, at least three people had been charged in connection with three of the six murders, which took place between June 21 and 26, and the Commissioner expects investigations will result in the charging of suspects in the remaining cases.

Among those arraigned last week was Kendrick Sands, 33, of Matthew Street, Nassau Village, who was charged in connection with the fatal shooting of Atlantis worker Kifftino Davis, 20.

Mr Davis, of Peardale Street off Wulff Road, was gunned down by an unknown assailant, near his home at around 2am last Sunday.

His mother said he was due to testify in the upcoming murder trial of Pinewood Gardens resident George Carey, 21, a friend and colleague of Mr Davis' who was stabbed multiple times near Lockhart's Bar, Wulff Road, in May.

For Sands it is the second murder charge he has faced in just over a year, as he was arraigned on charges in connection with the January 2009 Nassau Village shooting of Onando Newbold in February last year and had been released on bail.

After his arraignment on Thursday he was remanded in custody. Police also charged Prince McPhee, 34, of High Vista Estates, last week, in connection with the fatal shooting of murder-accused Bradley Ferguson in Sequoia Street, Pinewood Gardens, on Saturday June 26.

Ferguson had been acquitted of murder charges earlier this year, having been accused of killing pregnant Rosemary Bennett-Wright and her five-year-old son Jakeel Wright in March 2002, as well as of the attempted murders of Devonna Brown and Omega Fox.

Police Commissioner Ellison Greenslade and his team stopped near Ferguson's home during their procession through Pinewood, which is within site of the crossroads where seven murders had occurred in recent memory - including the double murder of a mother and son in January last year.

But police did not make clear whether this unmarked road - first said to be Sequoia Street and then Avocado Street - was also the place where Ferguson - armed with a handgun and bleeding profusely from multiple gunshot wounds - forced himself into the parked car of a mother and her three children and severely traumatised the whole family before he became the country's 47th homicide victim last Saturday.

Mr Greenslade spoke to people in the strip-mall business places on that corner in an effort to reassure upstanding members of the community that police were doing their utmost to prevent violent crimes, but he also had to remind the suffering public there is only so much he and his men can do.

With the criminal justice system bursting with a whopping 257 murder cases pending as of April this year - and areas of the prison also oversubscribed - the crime level is more than just a policing issue.

As Mr Greenslade said in his roundabout way - there are other executive bodies to also be held accountable.

Just last week Magistrate Carolita Bethel granted $10,000 bail to a suspect arraigned on several serious charges, including the shooting of a child in Pinewood Gardens two weeks ago.

Pinewood resident Tyson Deveaux, was charged in connection with the shooting of a four-year-old boy in Brazilletta Street, on June 14, an incident in which he also was shot.

He had previously been accused of the murder of Marlon Smith on April 19, 2009, and was also accused of the murder of Corrie Bethel on May 10, 2007.

When he was first arraigned on June 18, Deveaux was remanded in custody by Chief Magistrate Roger Gomez.

But when he reappeared before Magistrate Bethel, facing two additional firearms possession charges in connection with the Pinewood shooting on June 24, he was freed on $10,000 bail with two sureties - one being that he had to surrender his travel documents to ensure he stayed in the country.

Why the suspect in connection with such a serious succession of crimes was granted bail by a magistrate regarded as one of the strictest in Nassau's court system is not known, but the public has no choice but to welcome him back into their communities until he returns to court on August 14 for the rest of his future to be decided - or adjourned.

Because if some of them are not welcomed with open arms, the fear is that by resisting their return we will become the next bloody mess, and murder victim number 48, 49 or 50 - no small number for halfway through the year.

The Commissioner was right when he said their bail release is very powerful indeed.

Perhaps this is why Bahamians are so "tolerant" as the Commissioner said.

"I am very concerned that we as Bahamians are so tolerant," said Mr Greenslade.

"We cannot allow young Bahamian men to continue to walk the streets of our country 24/7 with illegal weapons, selling drugs in our communities, and poisoning our children.

"That's not a policing problem - that's a Bahamian problem.

"If a person is walking our streets on bail and believes he or she is above everybody else, I don't know how policing will prevent that.

"It's very important that all Bahamians report these matters.

"This is about all of us as Bahamians saying 'enough is enough'."

I am certain for many of those who heard or read his statements genuinely feel "enough is enough" whether they have experienced murder and violent crime directly, read about them daily in the newspapers, or choose to avoid the news altogether in an effort to protect themselves from having to digest the unsavoury facts.

I am sure the residents of Pinewood who were intrigued by the uniformed police chiefs parading through the area, but were too intimidated - either by the police officers themselves or the criminals living in their neighbourhoods - to speak to Mr Greenslade and his colleagues, have had enough of the crime.

Who wants to live in a community where you are afraid to speak out?

Where if you witness a murder, you could be the next victim?

Perhaps it is a situation people have become used to, but surely it's not the lifestyle of choice - and, yes, you do have one.

Unfortunately the intimidation of witnesses has become so common it may seem to be the only way of going about things.

As suspects' families celebrate the homecoming of their bailed loved-ones, witnesses of crimes that the suspects may or may not have been involved in, cower in their homes and lock their doors.

Pinewood mother Maria Scott lost her son Marcian Clarke, 31, four years ago. He was shot dead outside their Willow Tree Avenue home in Pinewood Gardens shortly before he was due to testify as a key witness in the murder of his former police patrol partner.

It's hardly surprising that after his partner was killed Mr Clarke left the police force for a job at Atlantis, but changing jobs was not enough to leave the front-line.

As a key witness, even his own efforts and the efforts of police could not protect him.

And with the recent case of Mr Davis's killing, it's little wonder people are so unwilling to come forward when it comes to informing the police.

As a reporter I have walked through neighbourhoods in Pinewood, off Wulff Road or East Street, to try to talk to residents about the latest crime, and the dozens of people sitting around who may or may not know something about it will not say a word.

Sometimes an unwary child will point me in the right direction, or divulge some interesting details, and very occasionally someone bold enough to speak out will do so.

But the long and short of it is - they do not feel safe to appear to be on the right side of the law.

Just as witnesses in murder cases whose names appear on court dockets and are called to testify in court may be vulnerable to freedom-hungry predators with blood on their hands, anyone who happens to see one of the dozens of cold-blooded killings committed in public places, and often in broad daylight, is also exposed to the vulnerability of a witness.

Ways of protecting witnesses could be worked out - by removing their names from the dockets, and having them sign a sworn statement rather than appear in court.

Ways of protecting people from bailed suspects could also be maintained by keeping enough officers on foot patrols in neighbourhoods to ensure the criminals are the ones who are cowering and not the law-abiding citizens.

This simple suggestion was put to me by a pair of bright young men who spoke candidly about Pinewood, the home they know and love, as a place neglected by anyone with the power to change it, as it lies hidden from critical eyes in some central south-eastern area of New Providence to be visited only by those who live there.

They brushed off the police "walkabout" as a PR exercise that would not change the problems of their community, because under the scorching mid-morning sun, there is little criminal activity for them to survey in Pinewood Park.

The officers need to be there on the streets day and night if they are going to maximize police efforts to stop the bloodshed; then even if the criminals are going to be freed on bail, at least they will not get the opportunity to strike again.

As Mr Greenslade said, without these "evil-hearted" individuals the neighbourhoods would be safe, so the balance has to be altered to bring it back to the good.

Young people in Pinewood want more resources to be given to community groups, or invested in the beautification of the community, and they need positive role models.

They criticised their FNM MP for not doing enough to support community groups, and for letting community resources fall into disrepair.

And taking the criticism with the sensitivity of an insecure teenager, or a politician, Mr Woodside chose not to return my call to answer questions about why the swings in Pinewood Park hang broken, why the basketball hoop has not been repaired for years, or why the garbage cans are overflowing, and the grass is overgrown and dumping is so common on empty lots, home to rusting abandoned vehicles.

Instead, Mr Woodside released a press statement highlighting what he had done to clean up the area, including spending nearly all of the $200,000 allotted to the community between 2007 and 2009 on community projects, including a clean-up campaign ($34,500).

And to be fair to Mr Woodside, it's not really up to him to baby-sit the children, teenagers and young adults who keep breaking the basketball hoops, or are reluctant to stop tinkering with rusted broken down cars over the decades so new cars may feed off their old parts.

It is also up to the people themselves to ensure the place in which they live is a community.

If Kevin Moss, the 20-year-old Pinewood resident who spoke to me this week, is as passionate about helping the young people in the community as he said he is, surely he can do that without a handout from his MP.

Yes, he needs support, but if the handful of families who want to keep Pinewood crime free can work together, perhaps they can crystallise those common ideals they have for their children and their neighbours' children, and realize those opportunity for the next generation.

By taking their own angle on the fight against crime, through increasing positive activities, showing they are not afraid, and being courageous enough to reclaim their neighbourhoods, they can help improve their communities while the police keep an eye on those system-worn suspects they know to look out for, and court administrators can get to work on addressing that mammoth backlog churning out bailed suspects who put us all at risk.

July 05, 2010

tribune242

Senior Justice Jon Isaacs addresses controversial bail issue

Judge addresses controversial bail issue
By KRYSTEL ROLLE ~ Guardian Staff Reporter ~ krystel@nasguard.com:



While acknowledging that every person accused of committing a crime is entitled to apply for bail, Senior Justice Jon Isaacs said Saturday he would have no difficulty denying it to a person accused of a serious crime if the case is tried within a reasonable period of time.

Isaacs was reacting to the government's declaration in the Speech from the Throne that it will bring an amendment to Parliament which would further restrict the right to bail for people charged with serious crimes, and to limit the circumstances under which bail may be granted.

"The only difficulty I would have is if persons are left to languish in prison for inordinate periods of time," said Isaacs, who was speaking during a panel discussion on 'Crime and its effects on our community', which was held on the greens of Super Value food store in Winton Estates. The panel discussion, which was attended by scores of Bahamians, was a part of the police and the Eastern Community Association's Fun Fantastic Festival.

"If persons are brought to trial within a reasonable period of time I have no difficulty with them remaining until such time as they face their accusers," Isaacs said.

Isaacs told The Nassau Guardian following the panel discussion that in most cases accused criminals are left in prison for long periods of time before their cases come to trial.

"That's where I have a problem," he said.

Asked what he considers a reasonable time for a case to come before the Supreme Court, Isaacs said every case has to be evaluated individually based on the evidence.

Thomas Evans, QC, who was also a member of the panel, said he considers two or three years to be a reasonable amount of time.

"But the reality on the ground is that you're [not] getting a case through the system until about five or six years," Evans said.

During the panel discussion, Isaacs recalled one case where four individuals were on bail for 16 years before their case went to trial.

"Imagine if you will if those persons were not allowed on bail for 16 years," he said. "Imagine their sense of grievance. What would the community offer by way of compensation? There is no redress for a person who has to spend time at Her Majesty's Prison awaiting trial."

Acknowledging that crime is spiraling out of control, Isaacs said he understands the society's call for harsher measures.

"There are those who advocate no bail for those accused of crime and harsher punishment for those convicted of offenses," Isaacs said. "While there may be some efficacy in the effort to deter persons from committing certain offenses by the imposition of stiff penalties, when one seeks to deprive those alleged to have committed offenses of their liberty without the benefit of a trial one has overstepped the permissible bounds of response to crime unless one is willing to ensure such persons receive trials within a reasonable time."

The government noted in the Speech from the Throne that a number of people who commit crimes do so while on bail pending trial for other offenses. That fact has led many Bahamians, over the past several months, to advocate for the complete restriction of bail for those accused of serious offenses.

Isaacs added that the court cannot pay attention to the whims and fancies of the community.

He pointed out that it would be hard for the government to undo what has already been done.

"What happens when you create a precedence - you cannot re-shut the door. Once that floodgate is open, the water is going to go through. Having allowed bail for one you must then consider bail for all," he said.

Isaacs added that it is not an easy decision to grant bail for people accused of serious crimes. Isaacs noted that when considering bail, judges have to consider the circumstances surrounding the incident, the offense, and the prosecution's reasons why a judge should oppose bail.

He said the main reasons why bail is denied is if the accused is considered a flight risk, or if there is reason to believe that the accused will re-offend while on bail.

"But if no such evidence is produced to the court at the time when bail is being considered then there is no real reason to keep the person in custody," Isaacs said.

Evans had similar sentiments.

"I would suggest that [the accused] ought not to be given bail if there is evidence to suggest that he is likely to commit offenses while he is on bail because what that does is jeopardize the right to secure people in society and the protection of the law and the security of the [alleged victim]."

Evans compared the job of passing judgment on an accused criminal before the court convicts him or her to walking "a very tight rope".

"It's very difficult to do," he said. "I know a little about that. It's a very difficult job. The bottom line is this, the society cannot be left out in the equation. What we have in our country now is a situation where we're almost overrun by criminal activity. The numbers are startling — 28 murders in the first four months of the year. It's astounding."

He pointed out that the prosecutor would have to prove why bail should be restricted for an individual accused of a crime.

"So once the prosecutors do their job in that respect then perhaps the courts will be persuaded to say, 'look given the facts that I have before me, given the circumstances of this particular case, I have to deny this man bail because otherwise there is a likelihood that the protection of the law and the security of the society is going to be compromised by his release'. But you can't expect the judge to do that if you can't prove it before him. We don't run kangaroo courts around here."


May 3, 2010

thenassauguardian

Bahamas Blog International