The Tribune

WHEN The Tribune wrote on Monday of the silence among our political leaders in the face of the soaring murder statistics, we hoped it might prompt a response in our country.

It certainly has – since then, there have been comments from church leaders such as Christian Council president Bishop Delton Fernander, who called the number of murders a matter “of great concern” and said it was “time for us to take this by the horns”.

He said the church has joined forces with the crime commission and Urban Renewal to that end.

There were also comments from activist Khandi Gibson, of the group Families of All Murder Victims. Police are often among the first on a crime scene, but Ms Gibson is often still there after others have long gone, helping families deal with the trauma of losing a loved one. She too said it was time for people to come together in hopes of finding some kind of resolution.

In this column, we also called on the FNM to speak up – and deputy leader Shanendon Cartwright did just that, calling on National Security Minister Wayne Munroe to say what the government planned to do about crime.

For his part, Mr Munroe complains today that it is time to stop politicising crime – which is discouraging considering he then set about politicising crime by blaming the FNM for “gutting” plans that were on the table when they came into office. He spent more time talking about what the FNM did than on what he plans to do, but he signalled a return to that plan from 2016, part of the Vision 2040 document, which seeks to divert young men from criminal conduct and criminal behaviour.

Let us not dwell too much on Mr Munroe’s complaints, however, and instead focus on the larger picture. We have church representatives, civil society representatives, members of the Opposition and members of the government all responding and focused on the runaway murder rate. All of them. Some might say at last, but let us welcome having reached that point.

The obvious question is, what next?

Well, part of that is answered by the new Police Commissioner, Clayton Fernander, who announced a number of strategies yesterday, including setting up an anti-gang and firearms unit.

He is new to the role, yesterday was day one, so we shall see the effects of Commissioner Fernander’s plan. He is right when he says the loss of one life is too many.

He has also announced that Operation Ceasefire is in full effect, with saturation patrols in hotspot areas, and gang members being targeted by police. That operation will now function as a separate unit, the Ceasefire Unit, to focus on prolific offenders.

There was more, such as a call for courts to fast track firearms cases, and a call for a review of the law to bring in tougher penalties for illegal weapons and the use of a weapon. As he said, “Tough times call for tough measures.”

There will also be a domestic violence unit, including representatives from social services, religious leaders and private entities.

It’s a start, definitely, and it’s a very different landscape today than it was at the start of the week when the nation seemed to be tamely accepting the soaring murder count.

But let’s not stop there. Let’s keep this ball rolling. All those who have spoken up this week, keep speaking up.

For a moment, let us go back to a night in April, 2013. That was a night when the new Commissioner was then a Superintendent – and was also a victim. He was shot multiple times, suffering injuries to his hand and chest that then Commissioner Ellison Greenslade described as “life-changing”.

At a press conference that night, there were again condemnations, including by members of the religious community, of the “unprecedented” levels of crime and calls for the Bahamian public to unite against criminals.

Our reporter on the scene that night, after the press conference, spoke privately to religious leaders and urged them to get in touch over any initiative they were involved in to help tackle crime, and that The Tribune would be only too happy to spread the word. Despite strong words on the night, none of those leaders reached out in the weeks and months that followed.

We must not let this be another such moment. This is a beginning – and we must continue building on it. The Tribune offers its hand again to organisations working to reduce crime, especially violent crime, to help where it can.

Commissioner Fernander has been a victim. He can now play his part in stopping there being more victims. We hope together there can be a real movement to deal with crime – but this time, the silence must not return.