I was very astonished as I heard the response given by Ellison Greenslade to some of the criticisms levied at himself and the police force in recent days.
Following criticisms about the crime statistics Mr Greenslade went on to explain that he found it disrespectful for anyone to suggest that those numbers are anything but accurate.
He suggested that people in various professions continue to do what they are good at and allow him to do the same.
He stated that “I’m never going to enter into another arena and offer an opinion on something that I know nothing about. I’m not an accountant, I’m not a medical doctor, I’m a police officer. That is what I do.” Greenslade claimed that he is tired of being disrespected by his critics.
There is lots that can be said about Mr Greenslade’s response. First things first, the DEMOCRATIC arena is a noisy one and precisely so because everyone is allowed to have a voice. Mr Greenslade needs to understand that he holds a very important position in a constitutional DEMOCRACY upon which freedom of speech should be guaranteed and protected by the very position that he holds.
Anyone in the Commonwealth of the Bahamas and beyond is free to express their concerns, disbeliefs, comments, questions, or concerns as regards the police statistics.
The tone of Mr Greenslade’s response seems to suggest that unless one is a police officer or member of the RBPF it is beyond one’s capability to have any credible questions, doubts, concerns, or comments as regards those statistics, as if to suggest that civilians are incapable of understanding police statistics.
I found this most offensive and reprehensible. I am not an officer of the RBPF, but I can surely tell you that I, just like Branville McCartney and many others, also find the RBPF’s assertion that serious crime is down to be very disingenuous.
I concede that the numbers may show that serious hard crimes are down, like murders, rape, etc. However, the fear of crime is not down.
What Mr Greenslade is not in touch with is the fact that crime is not seen in absolute numbers. So what if there were 10 or 12 or 14 or how many ever more murders at this same time last year. That is not the point.
The point is that the average Bahamian still feels that the risk of their being victim to criminal activity is too high to be considered acceptable and their criticism of the police’s statistics is indicative of this.
Crime statistics are very disingenuous for a very specific reason. They are the official numbers of the reported crimes. Public sentiment is reflective of official crimes and crimes that are not reported. Mr Greenslade is remiss to ignore that there are many crimes that are not reported out of fear. So I am not being disrespectful to his office when I say his crime statistics are incorrect. I am being genuine to myself and my country when I tell them to disregard those numbers given by the RBPF because crime is still way too high.
I myself have been victim to a crime and witness to two other criminal activities first-hand between December and January past. And no, I did not report any of them.
This is because I know personally the figures involved and these guys don’t mess around. I’m not going to court and putting my name on any statement against people like them. One of the perpetrators of an event that I witnessed was out on bail while accused for two murders.
There is no mechanism to guarantee my safety that gives me the gravitas to report people of such nature, given the fact that I know these criminals know me and my family. So yes, I’m afraid.
I’m living in fear of crime. Ask the general public how many of them have been victim to or witnessed a reportable event and did not report out of fear for their own safety. Then apply Greenslade’s statistics and see if crime is down.
Greenslade may be relieved by his stated decrease in crime, but the Bahamian people are not. I don’t know if Mr Greenslade wants the Bahamian public to pat him on the shoulder and say, “Thank you, murders are down 28 per cent this year,” and just keep silent and proceed with their lives as normal.
Most alarming was Mr Greenslade’s assertion that it is not good for people to second-guess the commissioner. This comment is just plain cold scary. It feels threatening. Mr Greenslade needs to understand that this is not a fascist police state. People don’t listen to the Commissioner and say, “Yes, sir,” and then walk away. The Bahamas is a constitutional democracy. He met it like that and he will leave it like that. So he should not be going around spewing veiled threats at persons and attempting to discredit others who question him and hold him and the RBPF accountable.
Only a fool would take the words of any public figure blindly. Our job in this democracy is to criticise and question, and most importantly to hold public figures’ feet to the fire as they do our work. If he can’t tolerate the fire, then in his own words “he knows what to do”!
Jimmy Bones
Nassau, Bahamas
April 23, 2013
