“This is a very big war in the jungle. We have a jungle out there, and I tell you as I ride around places like Bain Town, Podoleo Street, Charles Vincent Street and Farm Road, people thrive on criminality, peddling dope, making 30 days, and when the police come to arrest them they are offended.”
The observation was made by Police Commissioner Police Paul Farquharson as he commended some 20 police officers, in addition to Lady Zoe Maynard on Monday for their anti-crime efforts – including making firearm arrests, drug seizures, and solving kidnapping and murder cases.
As Commissioner Farquharson praised the officers from New Providence, Grand Bahama, and Abaco, he also commended Lady Zoe Maynard, wife of former Deputy Prime Minister, Sir Clement Maynard, for passing on information to the authorities that prevented a crime.
“I remember a couple of weeks ago,” he said, “Lady Maynard calling me about an incident that she witnessed; and because of her talk with me, lead us to something else which probably prevented a murder.”
Commissioner Farquharson said the purpose of the thrice yearly exercise is to recognize and honour hard-working police officers, and also encourage members of the public to come forward and assist the police in their crime-prevention efforts. It also serves as a morale booster for his officers, he said.
“Crime, today, seems to want to overwhelm us, and unless we collectively address this issue of crime, things will go on as usual,” he said.
“I want to thank you police officers, for staying away from your families, because if we don’t address this crime holistically it will soon turn on your family,” the police chief said. Although their jobs may sometimes seem thankless, they must do their best all times, he stated.
Describing the high homicide rate as senseless, Commissioner Farquharson said that many law-abiding citizens, whose duty it is to support the police, may actually be sheltering murderers.
“Because we cannot survive without the information, everybody needs to get involved, because these criminals are hell-bent to kill people at will, and we cannot allow that in this Bahamas,” he said.
More and more people are resorting to violence in a society previously noted for its respect for law and order, Mr Farquharson said.
Following the ceremony, Lady Maynard said that as she is accustomed to maintaining discipline and a respect for authority, she considered it her duty to assist the police.
By Sean Inniss, The Nassau Guardian
