The Tribune

By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Chief Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

NATIONAL Security Minister Myles Laroda yesterday pledged to establish a backlog reduction court within two years, expand specialised firearms courts and spend $1.5m on a new virtual court complex as the Davis administration moves to confront long-running delays in the criminal justice system.

Speaking during his budget contribution, Mr Laroda outlined a broad package of crime, court, prison, border security and oversight initiatives, backed by a $296,494,936 recurrent allocation to the Ministry of National Security, a six percent increase over the previous year.

Mr Laroda said the funding would support the country’s crime-fighting efforts, even as major crime trends continue to fall.

He said statistics for last year show that overall crime, including murders, armed robberies and housebreakings, remains down.

He also highlighted firearm and drug seizures, saying authorities seized 276 firearms, 5,725 rounds of ammunition, 4,107 pounds of cocaine and 955 pounds of marijuana.

Mr Laroda said the proposed backlog reduction court would be created within two years as part of a wider push to modernise the justice system. He also announced plans to expand specialised firearms courts and invest $1.5m in a new virtual court complex.

The minister also said the government would invest $4.1m to expand the CCTV network, $4.9m in police and prison equipment, and $1.2m in security and communications upgrades.

He said further investments would target intelligence and forensics, including additional body-worn cameras, advanced DNA analysis and digital forensics.

On maritime security, Mr Laroda said the government would advance radar surveillance across the Family Islands, purchase additional equipment, continue vessel refitting and dry docking, and expand development at the Coral Harbour base.

He also reported that 39 human trafficking matters were investigated last year, with eight cases pending trial. Seven of those cases involve sex trafficking and one involves labour trafficking.

He said nine suspects were charged, including three Bahamian men, one Bahamian woman, two Jamaican women and three Chinese men.

Mr Laroda said victim support was provided to eight people and two dependent children. He said $92,500 has been allocated in the 2026/2027 fiscal year to continue efforts to combat human trafficking.

He said police would continue to focus on early intervention, with funding earmarked for at-risk youth and development programmes, including HYPE, the Defence Force Rangers programme and the National Youth Guard.

Mr Laroda also detailed the government’s rehabilitation and second-chance initiatives.
He said about 433 expungement applications were reviewed by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Committee between September 2021 and March 2026. Of those, 250 were approved for expungement, 69 were referred to the Prerogative of Mercy, 85 involved curfew-related violations, four were referred for counselling and one was referred for anger management.

The Advisory Committee on the Prerogative of Mercy considered 23 early release applications this fiscal year, approving 13, denying six while granting approval for the work scheme, and deferring four.

Separately, 16 expungement applications were received, of which five were approved and eight denied.

Mr Laroda said the Security Forces Bill 2026, which covers all five security forces, is under review by the Law Reform and Revision Commission and will be tabled in Parliament after Cabinet approval.

He said the Office of the Inspector General of Security Forces would be established as an independent oversight body responsible for audits, inspections, investigations and performance evaluations.

He also highlighted plans to table the Conditional Release of Offenders Bill 2026, which he said would end automatic one-third sentence reductions and replace them with a structured parole system.

He said the proposed system would include curfews, mandatory education or employment, drug abstinence and supervised reintegration.