Minister of National Security Marvin Dames.
By RICARDO WELLS
Tribune Staff Reporter
rwells@tribunemedia.net
IN the face of a spate of murders, National Security Minister Marvin Dames yesterday announced a series of new crime fighting strategies geared towards the blanket coverage of specific hotspot areas in New Providence.
During a press conference held at police headquarters yesterday, Mr Dames announced the planned enrolment of some 105 new recruits, the roll out of a new crime reporting app, the long-awaited roll out of the Marco’s Alert planned for this week, and the incorporation of new crime fighting equipment as a part of the 2018 budget cycle, including an updated fleet of squad cars valued at $6.9m.
Referring to the Royal Bahamas Police Force’s recently published Manpower Audit, which noted that for every 100 officers recruited and deployed there should be a three percent decrease in crime statistics, Mr Dames contended that more personnel, paired with cutting-edge technology will be on display in the coming months. Mr Dames said working in tandem, law enforcement agencies are consistently making inroads to cut crime.
To date, he said there have been 51 homicides reported, compared to the same period last year when there were 70 – representing a 27 percent decrease.
Mr Dames insisted that while overall crime continues to decrease, police cannot take comfort in the fact that people are still losing their lives. He said: “We cannot sit back while murders occur as one life is one too many. The fight against crime and violence has to and will continue to be approached holistically.”
Referring specifically to a string of murders that have occurred in the month of June, Mr Dames said he has instructed all agencies under his command to do all within their power to bring them to a close quickly.
There have been 12 homicides thus far in the month of June making it the deadliest month of the year, so far.
Since Saturday, three murders have been recorded.
According to police, two of the three occurred in suspected armed robbery scenarios.
Further to that, Mr Dames yesterday suggested that a large percentage of the homicides that have occurred across the country this year, have been committed by young assailants operating with the intent to spread fear across the wider Bahamian public.
His comments come almost a week after he reassured Bahamians that there was absolutely no reason for them to feel unsafe.
Last Monday, Mr Dames doubled down on the narrative of the Minnis administration winning its fight against crime. To that end, he asserted yesterday: “I want to issue a stern warning to parents of young men roaming our streets. We cannot have a society where young men are roaming our streets and taking out lives of hard-working Bahamians.”
Mr Dames said the actions of this particular group of criminals “will not be tolerated.”
“We will use every tool at our disposable under the law of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, to ensure that every hardworking and law-abiding Bahamian is kept safe,” he said. “If you choose to take on law enforcement with a firearm then there are consequences.”
Mr Dames said without question, while officers will abide by the law, they will not allow innocent people to fall victim at the hands of “gun-toting thugs.”
When asked by reporters if recent trends makes a case for the enforcement of capital punishment, Mr Dames said he has long been a supporter of plans for the country to execute the laws on its books, but admitted that he doesn’t see a situation where that would happen.
Mr Dames insisted that on many levels, he has taken it upon himself to design and introduce strategies that both detect and prevent crimes more deliberately. However, he said members of the public now need to live up to their responsibilities and help police in their fight against crime.
He said: “We are extremely proud of the progress we are making, but takes you aback whenever people lose their lives, especially persons who were hard at work making ends meet for their families and it is never a good sign.”
He continued: “So the two incidents, the incident (Sunday) morning and the incident on (Saturday night) you know, there are people out there who know what happen. Why should the police have to go and work so hard to find them, right, as Bahamians don’t we have an obligation to say, ‘Hey listen, the guy right around the corner, they were just talking, they killed that man last night.’
“Why should police through an investigative process have to put in a significant amount of man hours, not complaining, they are all up to it because of the progress that we are making, they are arresting these people, they are putting them before the court. But as Bahamians we have to live up to are obligation, we have to live up to our responsibility to protect the other.
“It is like seeing someone break into your neighbour’s house and jumping into your vehicle and pretend like you didn’t see it and drive off. We have to move away from that, “ Mr Dames said. “We can not keep beating up on it being a police problem, a police problem. I met with them and I expressed some of the concerns that I have, some of the areas that I see where they can improve, now the commissioner and his team will have to go because they are responsible for the operation and the strategy outlay and they will have to go and address it.”
Comments
Chucky 5 years, 10 months ago
Unless u pair one cop with one criminal, you won't stop crime by adding police.
It's taken years of the ruling class of scumbag criminals raping society to push our people to the point of no hope / what the heck crime is all I can do.
Our country will continue to pay until our social fabric is repaired to a point where there is realistic hope for everyone.
Our country is all the proof one needs to see what happens when the ruling elite steal all the money and keep the people suppressed
joeblow 5 years, 10 months ago
These knee jerk reactions that end in the spending of tax payer money is always foolish and short sighted. The major beneficiary is the car company that sells the vehicles!
New police cars cannot stop a person with a hardened conscience and no moral values from doing what he has in his head to do if he wants something from you or if he believes he has been wronged! Many of these criminals are so mentally dense that they are prepared to spend time in jail just to get back at someone who hurt or harmed them.
Producing sensible, moral children who make good decisions is not an accident people. It take a lot of hard work and sacrifice, something too many morally slack people are not prepared to do!
This "crime problem" has been 30 years in the making. We sowed moral slackness and now we are reaping its violent fruit.
proudloudandfnm 5 years, 10 months ago
Next time don't be un such a hurry to declare you have reduced crime. Especially if YOU HAVEN'T DONE ANYTHING YET!
DDK 5 years, 10 months ago
MORE TAX MONEY DOWN THE TUBES. We need experienced assistance in tackling our out of control crime not more rookies and vehicles for them to break up. Maybe it IS time to look toward Singapore.
Chucky 5 years, 10 months ago
Trying to stop crime with police is like trying to stop rain with an umbrella, or the waves with a seawall.
Fix the problems in this nation you bumbling buffoon then most of the crime will disappear.
Educate the people, stop robbing them, stop letting the rich rob them, give the people a chance , give them a reasonable expectation of success if they try. Teach your own kids to have respect for people. Teach them to use birth control, or to raise the children they create.
This is going to take at least a generation to fix, likely more. Anybody who thinks any different is failing to reason honestly.
realitycheck242 5 years, 10 months ago
This is a Band Aid solution used after every murder spree. Create a Boot camp in Andros and make it mandatory for every male Bahamian child to serve three years minimum when they leave high school regardless of what part of society they come from. Include boys for the rich areas and the inner city areas. Pay them a stipen and teach them all the Discipline and values they need to develope to function in society and move the Fox Hill prision and teach the inmates the same. There are enough retired Defence force and police force officers who would gladly give their time for such a plan. .This plan that some would call national service and is the one plan Sir L.O Pindling regreted not doing as he was quoted in one of his final interviews
TheMadHatter 5 years, 10 months ago
Go in any store almost any time of day and you will find a single mother with her 3 year old son introducing him to violence at a young age; "You ain't hear me tell you to stop touching that?!!!!!!". Bamm across the face.
They learn the ropes. How to survive.
joeblow 5 years, 10 months ago
Discipline and abuse are not the same thing!
Greentea 5 years, 10 months ago
Blaming the mothers eh? Classic.
TheMadHatter 5 years, 10 months ago
The church don't know nothing about these 3-year old boys though. Nothing.
TalRussell 5 years, 10 months ago
by TalRussell
bogart 5 years, 10 months ago
Having a million police cars on the road plus 1 million Police Officers in ile Station or on the roads will not stop crime. Lets even double the number to 2 million and it still will not decrease crime..........all it will do is block up the roads....especially as all that has happens ....is they puts on plenty sirens....whee...whee...whee...and fer those cars cant move over in the gutter to let dem pass....dey gets on the car speaker....'you dere in da blue car..move over...yer blockin da road....yes you ....move over!!'.....AND THEY SPEEDS OFF TO BE DERE ......AFTER .....DA CRIME DONE HAPPENS.......plenty lights flashing....and asking people of dey sees what happems.... Somebody should tells dem by now dat deys...needs to do undercover...investigations...infiltrate dese drug areas...bribe for sources of tips....interrogate suspects....trace dese illegal guns where dey coming from....STOP DA CRIME BEFORE IT HAPPENS..?....stead of showing up afterwards in yer new police car !!!!!!
sheeprunner12 5 years, 10 months ago
60% of the Police is in khaki ......... How can they patrol the streets, when they are behind the desks???? ............ That is the problem ............ not more than 25% should be in khaki.
DDK 5 years, 10 months ago
Not even 25%!
Aegeaon 5 years, 10 months ago
That's what I said last time, most of the field police officers should be temporary removed from the streets, add in the US Army's Green Berets to replace the missing officers and to actively hunt gangsters, then Delta Force and the ISA should train the RBDF into creating a true Special Forces unit.
TalRussell 5 years, 10 months ago
After reading that the Comrade Minister Peoples Security's 'riding' is among the highest crime statistics, I can see why its called the Chicago of colony of islands. An MP, first needs brungs peace his constituents, before he can brungs nation.
BahamaPundit 5 years, 10 months ago
It's sad when you feel like our Government needs a 1st world government to keep them from stealing, cause they seem so untrustworthy. Our police need some first world police to make them do their job. So our government needs to be governed and our police need to be policed. It's like these guys are in kindergarten and need a teacher or nothing will get done.
TalRussell 5 years, 10 months ago
Ma Comrade BahamaPundit, if the Queen on other side pond does gets wind Nassau Town's over performing crime statistics which just happens falls under the under performing governing management many of the 35 elected red shirts MP's - she can be expected order the boarding members her battle ships with elite members contingents riot ready Royal Constabulary Englishman's and Englishman's Policeman's to set sail destination enter Nassau Harbour... means the Queen wrestle away crime solving responsibility from Marvin... who also thinks he was appointed by PM, wear Commissioner Policeman's hat too. {Just can't make up such stuff }.
DDK 5 years, 10 months ago
You wish, Comrade!
Chucky 5 years, 10 months ago
what you're missing in the grand scheme of things is that the first world governments are the professional thieves, our bumbling buffoons are just rookies, and that's why you know about it. Believe me, you don't want them to learn the ways of the developed countries, lest you wanna pay 75% of your income in tax by the time it done spend, and get nutting much for service.
birdiestrachan 5 years, 10 months ago
What is it that prompts the Marathon Man to have a press conference? Also if he has all of these brilliant ideas what is taking him so long to implement them? Lots of talk indeed but no substance, Just keep running until you run out.
bogart 5 years, 10 months ago
Another challenge from cleaning up dese crime areas.....would of course be that the current ruling Member of Parliament ...an his/her general...campaign manager...party supporter....stalwarts.... councillor.s....party elder....who would of course know of every voter...family...every house....track road....street....business....also know... every likely culprit..now the big question would be just like Roc wid Doc say....would the MP rather lose the election than the constituciency???? --- mathematically speaking looking at the numbers of accused murderers, criminals and their numbers of sympathetic families who are voters would be significant in many areas....and in certain areas where victory is by narrow margins???? @Aegeonon your ideas are interesting
PastorTroy 5 years, 10 months ago
POVERTY BREATHES CRIME. We are living in the residual of our leader/parents pass deeds and action/inactions. Sell Bahamasair, they probably have not made a profit since the 1980's; use the potential money to be wasted on Bahamasair to subsidize University of The Bahamas, along with tax from legalizing cannabis we should be able to give every interested Bahamian citizen a higher education. Think long term, this can be just a rough patch, however, keep reacting and buy more cars to fight crime is stupid. The same people who are directly benefiting financially from our Government buying more cars etc are the same elites and_____ who want to see and is orchestrating our demise. We trust our amoral, greedy enemies too much, "over-the-hill" is just the battleground, like the war in Iraq their central command is behind the gates in our Bahamaland. Lyford cay and others. Many can't run for office because of one of many reasons, so they just buy our elected leaders and our religious leaders, sadly, to them it's a game. We must educate our own people, import the best teachers and professors if we have to, this is war people, hard choices has to be made. Laugh now and cry later or cry now and laugh later.
DDK 5 years, 10 months ago
"The same people who are directly benefiting financially from our Government buying more cars etc are the same elites and___ who want to see and is orchestrating our demise. We trust our amoral, greedy enemies too much, "over-the-hill" is just the battleground, like the war in Iraq their central command is behind the gates in our Bahamaland. Lyford cay,"
Ya neva know! What about the funeral homes?
Chucky 5 years, 10 months ago
you really believe it's that simple? Come on, any bunch of thieving elitest who can rob a country blind and stay out of jail, is plenty smart enough to fix our education system. But why would they, that just make it harder to steal. These guys know what to do, problem is, they know all too well why they should not do it.
John 5 years, 10 months ago
How many $6.9 million worth of squad cars, many of which don't last a year, will this country have to purchase before you realize that the police alone cannot solve this crime situation? Police going in the areas and playing Starsky and Hutch, or Ten Speed and Brown Shoes will not cut it. The country is (unfortunately) breeding criminals and murderers. The average age of criminals is not increasing. So as fast as a criminal is killed, locked up or some how or the other removes off the streets, another takes his place. And now it is not just drug dealers and gang bangers being killed.. The general public is at risk. Even innocent little school children. And yet no one has been charged and convicted of being a gang leader or even being involved in gang activity. Put half that $6.9 million into development and traiing programs for the youth and the returns will be greater than police cars being written off in a matter of weeks or months.
BahamaPundit 5 years, 10 months ago
If the Bahamas Government was a company, consumers would tell them to get out of the governing business, because they're terrible at it. It's quite clear that our government, both parties, are simply terrible at governing. Their skills at governing are not something any consumer would pay money for in the working world; they would be completely bankrupt.
John 5 years, 10 months ago
The fact is New providence is becoming to trauma filled with the violence from the crime, the numerous car accidents and the day to day stress of living in the city. It is starting to take its toll on the general population. More and more young people are turning to drugs and alcohol and the older people are drinking more and choosing to stay at home. Social life is being restricted and more and more persons with psychological disorders are popping up. Life was already hard trying to deal with economic hardships cause by the unrelenting recession.
bcitizen 5 years, 10 months ago
Yeah new police cars. That will definitely reduce crime. VAT 18% here we come in 2 years. Tax and spend. What a waste
The_Oracle 5 years, 10 months ago
You spend 50 years dismantling Clerical impartial rule of law, and expect to avoid all the bad aspects of doing so? Rule by connection, favor, Personality not capability get you exactly this. It is the only outcome that could be expected. We were warned, B.K. Bonamy brought the warning back from Jamaica, and we ignored it. We are still ignoring it.
ThisIsOurs 5 years, 10 months ago
June 22nd 2016 budget address by Dr BJ Nottage 22% less murders.
"If you look at the national crime for all Bahamas in the first half of this year, from January 1-June 14, there are 22 percent less murders than there were a year ago, nine percent less attempted murder, attempted rape 38 percent less, armed robbery 21 percent less. This is the effect of some of the strategies we have adopted."
November 18 2015: Dr Sands on Jeff Lloyd's talk show
"Charging that the credibility of the Christie administration is at stake, former Free National Movement (FNM) Senator Dr. Duane Sands yesterday called for the resignation or dismissal of National Security Minister Dr. Bernard Nottage. Sands noted that while on the campaign trail, the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) told a "traumatized" nation that it had the answers to crime."
"So here we are in 2015 and the clock keeps turning as it relates to bloodshed and it's not only the bloodshed, it is the shootings and we've spoken before how for every murder there are probably two shootings," said Sands, who was a guest on Star 106.5 FM show 'Jeffrey' with host Jeffrey Lloyd. He said not only has the government failed to bring the rate of crime down, crime has increased under the PLP's watch."
John 5 years, 10 months ago
The fact is the country has been reduced to managing crime and managing criminals and everything else is built around how high or how low the criminal element is. With more than a week left in this month ( June) and the murder count already hitting 50, the country is definitely headed for another year of triple digit murders. And after a decade of what is preceived to be senseless killings the only response seems to give the police more cars and equipment. But what plans have been put in place moving forward? The murderers who were killing 20 years ago are not the same who are killing today because many of them are in jail or dead. And the victims of 10 years ago are not the victims today. The point is no intervention is being done to stop a new breed of killers and today there is no specific reason for you to become a victim. You can just happen to own a business, or be going for a haircut, or on your way to school or even home after school doing homework and hanging out at a bar or playing Domonioes or a game of cards. So there has to be some real consequences for someone even thinking about murdering someone else. But what do you do with someone whom, himself does not fear death or even as a teenager or in his early 20’s doesn’t mind the possibility of spending the rest of his life in prison. And some consider jail to be a refuge. Safer than the streets are now.
Aegeaon 5 years, 10 months ago
Problem is. Fully stopping crime is on society's duty, and since we can't figure out how to raise kids correctly or if the finances are all designed for us to create a narco-state. It's impossible to fully eradicate it. But we can keep adapting and preventing them from inflicting more damage.
ThisIsOurs 5 years, 10 months ago
They're not adapting to anything though. He's repeating word for word exactly what Dr Nottage proposed five years ago.
TalRussell 5 years, 10 months ago
Ma Comrades, how crazy is it that even if you hand over new vehicles to the policeman's - won't be long before they stop properly maintaining and servicing them................... Currently the policeman's have a fleet of 536 vehicles with only 126 cars of the 538 operable. Of the remaining 412 a whopping "273 vehicles are classified as being NOT roadworthy and 139 experienced chronic repairs."
The majority of the vehicles are confined to Nassau Town, thereby exposing the Out Islands to vulnerable and substandard policeman's performance,
{ Can't make this up that the Imperial red shirts government, have more vehicles on the road and parked in government officials driveways assigned to politicians and political appointees, than do the entire fleet vehicles for policeman's to protect and guard people }. I tell you, we're red shirts F-----,
Can't keep stink off red shirts.... they is magnets crap.
BahamaPundit 5 years, 10 months ago
Likely, the person importing the vehicles for the police will be an FNM crony. This is why they keep crashing and reordering vehicles, somebody in their party gets a big fat payday.
joeblow 5 years, 10 months ago
I bet it would cost far less to implement the death penalty for these cold blooded murderers than buying a bunch of police cars to license, insure and repair!
truetruebahamian 5 years, 10 months ago
Stop having out of wedlock children. Spay and neuter those who do after two!
John 5 years, 10 months ago
BUT THE OUR GOD INFORMS US (Book of Isiah) . . "".Good people pass away; the godly often die before their time. But no one seems to care or wonder why. No one seems to understand that God is protecting them from the evil to come. 2For those who follow godly paths will rest in peace when they die. Idolatrous Worship Condemned 3“But you—come here, you witches’ children, you offspring of adulterers and prostitutes! 4Whom do you mock, making faces and sticking out your tongues? You children of sinners and liars! 5You worship your idols with great passion beneath the oaks and under every green tree. You sacrifice your children down in the valleys, among the jagged rocks in the cliffs. 6Your gods are the smooth stones in the valleys. You worship them with liquid offerings and grain offerings. They, not I, are your inheritance. Do you think all this makes me happy? 7You have committed adultery on every high mountain. There you have worshiped idols and have been unfaithful to me. 8You have put pagan symbols on your doorposts and behind your doors."
sealice 5 years, 10 months ago
more police ....more cars.....more useless gubmint employees in an already over employed gubmint sector doing the usual .....jaqcueshitte......
Gotoutintime 5 years, 10 months ago
We need the Queen back to fix this crowd!
sucteeth 5 years, 10 months ago
We need to implement the same system from politics, immigration,taxes, business etc., that the Cayman Islands did. This country is doomed if not.. Bring back hanging as well for these thugs!!
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