ROCK SOUND, Eleuthera — The reduction of crime throughout the Commonwealth of The Bahamas continues to be the government’s number one priority and will remain at the forefront of its national agenda, Minister of National Security the Hon. O.A. T. Turnquest said Wednesday.
Mr. Turnquest said the government’s record clearly shows that no effort has been spared to provide the Royal Bahamas Police Force, the Royal Bahamas Defence Force and the country’s other law enforcement and national security agencies with the necessary tools and conditions of service required for them to effectively do their jobs in addressing crime.
The National Security Minister said the listing of resources provided to the Royal Bahamas Police Force since 2007, alone, is long and impressive (and) that the Police “now have the capacity to respond rapidly and appropriately to all incidents. It has the manpower, the technology and the required mobility.”
“Over the past year, for example, 47 vehicles and five boats have been deployed to the Family Islands. Here in Rock Sound alone, there has been the allocation of a heavy-duty truck and one 26ft Police Vessel and assignment of two additional corporals,” Mr. Turnquest added.
Addressing the commemoration of the recently refurbished Police Station in Rock Sound, Mr. Turnquest said the foremost responsibility of the government is to provide a safe and secure environment that is conducive to the well-being of the citizens and the development of the country.
The National Security Minister said a major objective of the government has been to ensure that the public is served by an accountable, responsible, competent, better-equipped and professional police force.
Mr. Turnquest said government has implemented a number of crime-fighting strategies “and proven methods using updated technology” to address crime and criminality including the use of Electronic Monitoring, Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) and the establishment of a Remand Court “in close proximity to her Majesty’s Prison” so that police and prison officials “can be more usefully and effectively assigned.”
Mr. Turnquest said the CCTV Project has fared so well that officials are now in the process of implementing a “full municipal CCTV Project for New Providence.”
He said the Compendium of Anti-Crime Bills that were debated and passed in the House of Assembly and the Senate late last year, proposed improvements to the Criminal Justice System, the implementation of youth-related programmes for at-risk youth by the Royal Bahamas Police Force, the Royal Bahamas Defence Force and Her Majesty’s Prisons, are all part of the Government of The Bahamas’ efforts to put in place all the necessary legal and other mechanisms designed to fight crime and criminality from an “overarching standpoint.”
The programmes established for at-risk youth, Mr. Turnquest said, will allow for even greater focus to be placed on reducing the incidences of youth and other violence within the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.
“This Government has adopted a reasoned, coherent, coordinated and calculated strategy for countering crime in The Bahamas,” Mr. Turnquest said. “My ministry is part of a government that is working as a team, cooperatively, in a multi-faceted way to counter crime and criminality in The Bahamas.”
Mr. Turnquest said the government, which has already spent tens of millions of dollars on upgrades to facilities, infrastructure, state-of-the-art equipment, vehicles, boats, and upgrades to human resources and training since being elected, and despite a downturn in western economies, will undertake a number of projects to provide for upgrades within the Family Islands.
“We understand that there are still some islands that still need additional resources and we are going to take care of that,” he said. “We have to manage our resources to ensure that every single Family Island community is well-resourced by the Police, Mr. Turnquest added.
By Matt Maura
Bahamas Information Services
