A top police official has claimed that young Bahamian peddlers are harassing tourists in Nassau and committing fraud.
Assistant Superintendent Chris Rahming said the hassling of visitors is becoming a serious problem for the Royal Bahamas Police Force (RBPF).
“[Young Bahamians] sell [tourists] songs and give them beads,” said ASP Rahming. “They put beads on [the visitors] hands and when people are not giving them money, they yuck them off.
“The young Bahamians also say that they want a donation for these beads, to assist with the various hurricane relief funds,” he continued. “Others offer beads and give a slip to the [tourists] to go to various stores to get candies and other things. [But] when the tourists go, the slip is invalid. This is a fraud [and] it is causing a problem.”
ASP Rahming added that his department, the Police Tourism Section, is actively patrolling known areas where rogue peddlers hang out.
“We have been visible and have had a high police presence in the downtown area, particularly at Woodes Rodgers Wharf,” he said. “This is where young Bahamians swarm on tourists.”
Senior Director for Product Development at the Ministry of Tourism Angela Cleare, insisted that the “heavy police presence” has helped to ease the problem.
“[The Tourism Ministry] is beginning to see not only a reduction in crime but also in harassment of visitors which continues to be a problem,” Ms Cleare said. “[But] it has reduced considerably.
“The point is crime is not a big problem in The Bahamas yet,” she continued. “As I indicated harassment is. Visitors walking down Bay Street are being harassed. Crime is not a big issue.”
[Editor’s Note: Where does this woman live? And doesn’t she read the news?]
“The way [the ministry] sees it is the small things, like the way [the police] respond, that creates visitor satisfaction”, (Ms. Cleare adds.)
While police officials have admitted that tourists visiting our shores are being harassed, they have yet to comment on reports that drugs are being sold to visitors.
A visitor, who spoke exclusively with The Guardian, has claimed that a Bahamian man attempted to sell him drugs in the downtown area twice in the span of three days.
“I was walking down Bay Street and a guy was sitting on the wall near the Hilton Hotel,” said the visitor. “He game up to me and said, ‘Would you like a smoke of marijuana or ganja. I can get you coke if you want.’ I ignored him and continued up the street.
“The same guy that was sitting on that wall came up to me literally three days later and said exactly the same thing at the same spot,” he continued. In an attempt to clamp down on tourist related crimes, the RBPF created the Police Tourism Section earlier this year.
Linking with the public and private sectors, police officials said the initiative provides “a stronger and more proactive crime prevention and law enforcement approach for the safety and security of our visitors, through a high visibility policing concept that enhances normal police patrols.”
By: JASMIN BONIMY, The Nassau Guardian
