Over the weekend, top police officers pointed to a range of issues which they say are linked to the growing crime rate and that have yet to be effectively addressed by the country’s leaders.
At the top of the list is a glacially slow and inefficient court system which persuades many criminals that they have a good chance of getting off unpunished even if they are arrested and charged. And very often persons out on bail are committing more crimes.
In the meantime, the police are often directed – for public relations and/or revenue collection purposes – to focus on minor offences which have even less chance of coming up for trial. There are currently almost 10,000 cases pending before the courts and a total of 14,000 outstanding arrest warrants.
It would be interesting to know what the average time for a court procedure is. There are probably not enough man hours in the day to deal with these matters.
Although the police can round up miscreants, the effort is wasted if they are not speedily processed by an efficient justice system. And when the public begins to lose faith in the system, the situation deteriorates further and becomes harder to fix.
We agree with Commissioner Farquarson that The Bahamas is sitting on a “powder keg” due to decades of official neglect and the traditional tendency of Bahamians to ‘look the other way’.
Now we are told that the Prison Reform Committee which reported recenty has not only pinpointed where the problems lie, but has offered around 300 solutions.
It is clear from all these public briefings, that the responsible parties are aware of the tremendous problems the country faces in regard to crime and social decay, but have apparently not had the imagination, energy or authority (you choose) to address them effectively.
This has led to an all-time-high crime rate, a resurgence of drug trafficking accompanied by the use of more and more firearms, and a disconcerting feeling that things are spiralling out of control.
Hopefully, the authorities will not sit on these issues much longer or set up more talking shops. There has to be firm leadership.
Editorial, The Nassau Guardian
