The Tribune

Protecting tourism from criminals in The Bahamas is paramount for the country’s economy and reputation as a destination. Paul Thompson suggests government security surveys of hotels would help prevent major incidents . . .

In 1993, I was in St Lucia for a Caribbean Tourism Organisation conference. Our government was represented by Tourism Director-General Vernice Walkine, and I was proud to be a member of her team.

One of the main topics was the escalation of crimes against visitors that was taking place in most destinations. In that year, the Bahamas recorded a total of 223 crimes against visitors on New Providence. Most were were robberies, and most were committed against visitors staying in hotels rather than on cruise ships.

Director-General Walkine referred to the fact that 80 per cent of our tourists are from the United States and noted that - even back in those days - safety was a critical factor for Americans when choosing a vacation destination. With the subsequent rise in terrorism and violent crime around the world, it is even more of a concern today.

“The Bahamas has therefore placed strong emphasis on crime prevention and stabilisation,” she told the St Lucia conference. “The escalation of crimes against visitors over the past three or four years is believed to be directly related to a decline in stopover arrivals, visitor expenditures and the concomitant increase of unemployment.”

As early as 1972, the Ministry of Tourism had created a Visitor Relations Unit to deal with product-related complaints. And over the years this unit had become more and more involved in issues related to crimes against tourists.

The Ministry of Tourism provides help where possible in these matters - including moral support from the staff of the Visitor Relations Unit, the facilitation of long-distance communications, liaising with the police and other officials, arranging complimentary accommodations and persuading airlines to waive travel costs.

A decade after the St Lucia conference, I wrote to Minister of Tourism Obie Wilchcombe (who is also the current minister) on the important issue of hotel security. The letter was copied to the Minister of National Security and the Commissioner of Police.

At that time I pointed to an increase in the rate of criminal attacks against visitors and argued for stronger measures. I referred to the notorious sexual assualt on a young woman by armed and masked bandits (in the presence of her parents) on the upper floor of the Crystal Palace Hotel - which failed to provide adequate security for guests.

I do have some experience in these matters. Following my 30-year career in the Royal Bahamas Police Force - most of which was spent in the Criminal Investigation Division - I was appointed head of security at the Paradise Island Resort and Casino, which later became Atlantis. I spent 15 years in hotel and casino security operations before working with private security firms.

On Paradise Island I was able to build an in-house security team that guaranteed the safety of our guests. This approach continued after I left, I am pleased to say, and the Atlantis Resort maintains a security unit that is among the best in the region.

The owners and managers of Atlantis demonstrated a consistent concern for security and safety. They were prepared to invest in the security unit by offering better conditions of service, higher wages and opportunities and incentives for superior performance.

After leaving Atlantis I was hired by the Crystal Palace Resort & Casino to improve security there. To help with this task I recruited Lawrence Major, a former assistant police commissioner, as my deputy.

Our plans included the training of in-house personnel, the removal of those we considered unfit for the job, and the improvement of terms of service for those we wanted to keep. Unfortunately, the Crystal Palace management considered hotel security a necessary burden at best, and did not provide the support we needed to do the job.

At one point, I was asked to investigate casino employees suspected of stealing. I was prepared to do this in a lawful manner, but when asked by the resort owner, Phil Ruffin, to check employee bank accounts, I refused to undertake this illegal act, and my position was soon after made redundant.

Before that happened there was an armed robbery at the Crystal Palace Casino, when almost $1 million was stolen from a safe. The police chased the robbers through the bush in the area of the old Hobby Horse Hall and later recovered the money.

Ruffin was as pleased as punch, and made a public relations show of rewarding the police with a donation of $100,000. I was asked to arrange the presentation, but it was never made - despite several representations made to the owner and his senior staff over the years.

It is often the case that hotel owners and managers are concerned about security only when a major incident occurs. In my view, the government should conduct security surveys of hotels to ensure compliance with common-sense rules. Masked men should not be able to get to the upper floors of a hotel, apparently unseen, to rob and rape guests.

Hotel and guest house owners and managers must also appreciate how vital personal security is to vacationers, even though it is a cost rather than a revenue earner. Without proper security, lawsuits can win huge damages for negligence, and the ensuing bad press can do serious harm to our all-important major industry.

Perhaps the worst hotel security incident ever occurred in July, 2005 - in Bimini of all places. A European couple - Bernard Dolzano and Barbara Freilin - were staying at the Blue Water Inn when a local man, Frederick Francis, entered their room, raped Freilin and murdered both guests.

Shortly afterwards I visited Bimini and made some inquiries. What I found was a shocking example of negligence in terms of hotel security. The Blue Water had only one night guard who was stationed at the marina. The villas and suites were poorly lit, accessible through broken fences and the room doors did not lock properly.

I wrote to the Ministry of Tourism suggesting that proper security should be a top criterion for licensing any hotel. Even the emergency plans of hotel properties should be subject to inspection and compliance measures. But I am not aware of any action ever taken by the government in this regard.

Although Frederick Francis was later sentenced to life in prison (where he remains today), that was little consolation for the tragic and unnecessary deaths of two innocent visitors to our country. And it did not make up for the inevitable bad publicity the Bahamas received as a result.

NEXT WEEK: Crime prevention and how the public can help

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