DR. BERNARD J. NOTTAGE
M.P. CHIEF EXECUTIVE
OFFICER CRIME 14th March
2002 COALITION+LABOUR KEY
SUMMARY POINTS: Good morning members of
the Press Coalition+Labour is
alarmed at the recent spate of violence that has gripped New
Providence in recent weeks. It seems as if some of our young
men have devalued the sanctity of human life and have
determined that they are a law unto themselves. The nature
and boldness of the slayings, in broad daylight and while
families of women and children are asleep in bed,
demonstrates graphically just how far we have fallen as a
society. That we have had fifteen murders and scores of
persons maimed and seriously injured in senseless violence
in less than two and a half months does not speak well of us
as a people. The level of crime in the
Bahamas, especially violent crime, is unacceptable in so
small a society. We believe that our tolerance of crime has
fuelled criminal activity. Not until we as a people refuse
to accept crime in any of its manifestations and commit to
exposing all criminal activity, will we start to tackle the
problem. Crime is a multifaceted
phenomenon, which requires attention from all the social
partnerships and we must mobilize all relevant institutions
and all manpower to stem lawlessness in the Bahamas. The
greatest such partnership, the family, is the foundation of
the democratic society. Every effort must be made to give
support to families. Public Safety is one of
the fundamental obligations of the state. If citizens do not
feel safe in their homes and in the wider society there
could be little hope of entrenching true democracy. Criminal
activity in the Bahamas is at an unacceptable level. It has
imprisoned citizens in their homes and robbed Bahamians of
their natural instinct to be friendly and outgoing. Indeed,
violent crime has negatively impacted the quality of life of
Bahamians. Crime has flourished in a
socio-economic climate that rewards greed, selfishness
and
expediency. The
assessment by the National Crime Commission "that the
Bahamian society is more threatened by a pervasive culture
of dishonesty, greed and a casual disregard for social norms
and formal regulation, than it is by crimes in the narrow
sense" is an accurate one. The challenge for this
nation and its leaders is to forge a national effort to
break the cycle of criminal activity in the Bahamas. We
believe that the answer to this menace to the society is
total commitment by all of the socializing institutions to
instill the qualities of morality, integrity and honesty in
all citizens. It requires also a society that is intolerant
of crime and corruption in every area of life. The process must start in
the homes of Bahamians but should be re-enforced by the
schools, churches and civic organizations. This of course
will not be achieved overnight but with resolve and
steadfast determination will reap long-term
rewards. Coalition+Labour
proposes that there must be some immediate prescription and
measures applied. We are convinced that rapid response and
detection, certainty of arrest and swift justice are the
most effective deterrents to crime. In government, we will
provide the law enforcement agencies with the necessary
resources and will invest in the reform of all components of
the criminal justice system. Parents will be
encouraged to see that their children attend school, that
they are provided with proper nutrition and conditions will
be fostered to enable parents to spend much more time with
their children while they are at home. After all, it is
parents who have the greatest responsibility for socializing
their children and for ensuring that they understand their
role as citizens. Over the last nine years,
the crime situation has gotten worse and worse. The FNM has presided over
the most violent period in our history Unlike the FNM,
Coalition+Labour will never play politics with crime!
We
state catergorically that we do not and will not blame any
single political party for the previlance of crime in our
country. In an attempt to win a few votes in 1992 the
outgoing government tried to pin crime on the PLP
government. What do they say now, now that the crime problem
has gotten worse under their watch?
We know that crime is
a national issue and that all Bahamians, no matter their
politics, race, or religion are affected in some way.
Coalition+Labour wants to come together hand in hand
with all Bahamians of good will and fight this
scourge. We recognize that to deal
with crime, the government has the responsibility of (1)
creating opportunities for all Bahamians to be actively
engaged both economically and socially; (2) ensuring that
the church and civic organizations – which have the
expertise and passion – are provided with the resources
and support to undertake their valuable social work; and (3)
providing the Police Force and Judiciary with the funding,
independence and managerial capacity to uphold the law and
dispense justice. Crime Prevention
– Addressing the root causes of
crime Coalition+Labour
believes that in order to deal with crime, it is necessary
to get to the root causes of crime. In other words, we must
look first to prevent crime and the environment, which
breeds crime. Many valuable studies here in the Bahamas have
shown that to reverse the increase in crime, the country
must dedicate itself to youth development, community
development and the strengthening of the family
unit. A Coalition+Labour
government will: Supporting the Work
of Church, Civic and Social organizations There have been two major
incidences of domestic violence in my constituency in less
than four weeks. Between them five lives have been lost! In
the 2000, domestic violence accounted for so many murders,
(45% of 74 murders that year) that the police began a
campaign, had officers trained and released a booklet
explaining the problem. In spite of these efforts the trend
has continued, though the amount of killings was less in
2001 (44% of 44 murders). There is an urgent need
for us to learn as a society how to deal with resolving
conflicts in a non-violent fashion. Such training may need
to start as early as the primary school. Authorities need to
pay more serious attention to complaints from spouses who
report threats and minor incidences, because too many of
these disputes are escalating into serious injuries and
deaths. The attention of the mental health professionals,
pastors, conflict resolution counselors and others is vital
at this time. Coalition+Labour
appreciates that the church, social and civic organizations
in our country have provided great service to our country
over the years with far too little recognition and support.
It is these organizations – with their missions, and
committed, able and passionate staff and volunteers –
which are more able than any government bureaucracy to
create and manage the social programs that can have a
positive effect on the environment which breeds criminal
activity and social deviance. Accordingly, we will
utilize the zeal and skill base of these organizations to
help alleviate the social problems for which many of them
were formed. Your
Coalition+Labour government will: The
Police We congratulate the police
for their continued efforts to stem the rising flow of
crime, but it is clear that there is a renewed surge that
must not be allowed to overwhelm us. The Commissioner of
Police must ensure that his personnel and equipment are
deployed in the most efficient and productive manner and
that he permits no politician to hinder him in discharging
his responsibilities. Coalition+Labour
believes that more focus needs to be put on ensuring that
the police are fully mobile and have adequate communications
so that their response time is significantly
reduced. One area that requires
modernization is the Security and Intelligence
Branch. There are obviously far
too many guns on our streets and in the hands of young men
who are quick to use them to terminate disputes and the
people with whom they have differences. Coalition+Labour
believes that every effort must be made to find out how so
many illegal guns are finding their way into the country and
these deadly loopholes must be shut down. The police must
ensure that police are not selling guns to criminals. SIB
officers are well-trained and highly intelligent officers
and better use must be made of that training and
intelligence. It is they who should be charged with the
responsibility of tracking down how these weapons are coming
in and stemming the inflow. The most important use
still being made of SIB officers appears to be to spy on
political parties and their activities. Why would SIB
officers be deployed to take photographs and names of
citizens engaged in peaceful and lawful activities such as
political demonstrations? What is their role if there are
adequate plain-clothes policemen at the scene? Surely it is
more important to keep guns off our streets than to know who
is attending political rallies! Coalition+Labour
believes that a modern, well-trained, well-motivated and
accountable Police Force is of critical importance in
fighting crime, while maintaining the public trust. The
outgoing government has talked about these things, but has
never seen fit to truly empower the Police Force to allow it
to undertake its mission at optimal levels. To ensure that
the Bahamas develops the best Police Force in the world,
your Coalition government will: Politicians in the Bahamas
may be unwittingly contributing to the crime wave. We as
politicians cannot talk of respect for others when some of
us demonstrate such disrespect for anyone who has an
opposing view. We cannot go on stage at a rally, name
persons in the opposition party and urge supporters to keep
their ‘grubby hands’ out of the
government. Politicians cannot speak
of ‘zero tolerance’ for crime, and when
allegations of corruption are made against them or members
of their party, seek to cover-up actions by their colleagues
that might rise to the level of criminality. We cannot promote the
principles of ‘win at any cost’ and
‘the end justifies the means’ and not
expect any negative backlash from the citizens. Bahamians
must hold their politicians to a higher standard and demand
more accountability of them. We who seek political office
must ensure that we are part of the solution and not part of
the problem. We must not give any comfort to the
criminal.
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