The Tribune

EDITOR, The Tribune.

Greetings and thank you for the opportunity being afforded me, to make these several points for contemplation, analysis, accuracy and correctness, I appreciate it.

Editor, on Saturday, May 27, 2023@2:38pm, trying to stay on top of conditions, circumstances occurring in western New Providence, and having an acute deficit in my personal transportation... boarded a 12-B Jitney Bus from downtown Nassau, for the round trip out west and back to downtown for a look see, etc?

You are all aware such a trip encompasses Frederick Street, Princess, Duke Streets, Cumberland and Marlborough Streets, west Bay Street, on to Blake Road, John F Kennedy Drive and skirting the northern locale of the Lynden Pindling International Airport, west of the Tropical Garden Subdivision (southern entrance/exit), continuing west pass the Airport Industrial Park, arriving at the Old Fort Bay roundabout, continuing on to western Road, previously known as Lyford Cay Road, arriving at the Lyford Cay Community Gate, but travelling south to Mt Pleasant Village.

Returning retracing the same route except that upon reaching the Old Fort Bay toundabout, taking a northern, or left incline, going now the seashore, passing Love Beach, Gambier Village, Tropical Gardens, Orange Hill Estates, Delaporte Point, Saunders Beach, Saint Alban’s Drive, the Fish Fry at Arawak Cay and into Downtown, the culmination of the trip, but something occurred on every leg of that trip that I felt compelled to bring to the attention of the powers that be?

During the scenic ride, and being quite a perceptive and probing mindset, always being aware of my surroundings due to any number of social decadence, couldn’t help myself making the observation, that I had not seen a single police patrol vehicle, but why?

There is a fair percentage of the routes that caters to properties used by visitors to our country, and others of it included establishments that required some level of protection, like the Doctors Hospital West, Eateries Travellers Rest, and all of the others that were overlooking the gorgeous seacoast of western New Providence, etc?

Editor, while I am really not concerning myself with the internal affairs of the workings of the Royal Bahamas Police Force (RBPF), but I do speak as a citizen, a voter, and a patriot of the highest order, I confer upon myself, and I think that the proof easily cements the confirmation of it, nevertheless.

Writer, what are you talking about? Glad that you’ve asked.

Anytime I decided to ink a set of not just opinion pieces, this goes beyond the opinion opinion piece, it is contextually a doctrine with analytical qualities, and as such, it has inherently, points that were omitted, and on a grand scale, but appropriately, one that needs to be said, nevertheless, I opined.

Editor, the same way that we have Constituencies, were for a reason and therefore, the the mindset for law enforcement in my view, and not specific to my view, but I have worked in the system where patrols was the bread and butter of the establishment...it provided the environment where the wisdom, knowledge and understanding of policing to a hold very early on in the lives of young Constables, the heart and soul of the Royal Bahamas Police Force (RBPF), and therefore, cannot, shouldn’t be a discontinuation, or even a replacement, and why not might you ask?

For if we fail to observe the tenets of what made the Police Force great, we run the risks of losing the formative, what to look for? And when you saw something, what categories it fit in, does carry, and for obvious reason?++These suspicions formulated with an officer, while you might equate it to a personal context, it is anything but personal, why?

A legal requirement stipulated that whatever might the suspicions be?

It must be well founded, and what does that mean? Well, proof of a crime for starters holds true and how do officers arrive at these analytical underpinnings?

It is my humble knowledge that it is hatched, conceived, hatched and developed from those patrols and if we were to lose this must, for keepsakes, the members of the public will suffer, because it will mean that your policeman is not ready to work as an effective law officer, not well versed with his job, his policing skills being in the balance, etc?

Finally, Mr Police Commissioner, sir, you and I were detectives together at the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), and at a time when supervision and scrutiny were at an all time high, it was everything and the maintenance of the Criminal Investigation Files required the kinds of attention to details that supervisors enforced. Also high on the Agenda of the CID was area patrols, we had detectives assigned to all areas of New Providence and with Sub officers to oversee those officers so assigned. You might ask what it has achieved?

Starters we kept crime to a minimum and those searches revealed much. The Sub officer and his team rendezvoused with us every hour, or as was practicable, sharing intel, comparing notes, hashing out Criminal targets, and what to make of what it all meant? We stayed on top of matters all across New Providence.

Mr Commissioner of Police Sir, what is the plan?

And if you were to ask me? The concept remains, because the offenses have not changed, nor should the plan?

Finally, what I think that we need more than anything else, is an enormous increase in manpower, which should makeup at least 5% or 7% of the entire population for a strategic reason? would have the personnel populate the numerous tactical and specific needs arrived at, etc?

Another and just as important drive is to have a robust Crime Prevention Unit for every Constituency, where there is a Police station, otherwise?

And for the Political Directorate, people in many of the cases commit crimes out of necessity, meaning that when there is a lack, the propensity to commit becomes even more greater, especially where people should, and must have essentials-life-saving-menus per say, these were lacking, etc? Politicians for behold your jobs entails a two tier designation:

1...the protection of the state, and finally,

2...the welfare of a people, period.

I call upon the Powers-that-be, to refrain from denying the Bahamian people what is lawfully theirs, the public revenues, the job opportunities, stop looking down to the people who if truth be told are your bosses, your employers and you,the employees, so get it right?

If you cannot do the honorable thing and take proper care of God’s people, get out of politics, because if you do not, and continue in the vein that you are, one day after a while Father God will step in and bring your exploits to an abrupt end, Hallelujah, amen.

Thank you editor for the space, I appreciate it.

FRANK GILBERT

Nassau,

May 30, 2023.