Massive development plans on the Family Islands are stretching police resources. Chief Superintendent Marvin Dames said the force would have to beef up police numbers on Mayaguana, after Prime Minister Perry Christie last week unveiled a colossal $1.8 billion building project on that island.
“We see development taking place throughout The Bahamas, from north to south,” Supt Dames said. “So we must always bear in mind that as we develop, there is critical need for law enforcement resources to meet these developments that are currently taking place on these islands.”
But not only will the smaller islands need stronger police presence, other islands like Grand Bahama, Eleuthera and Exuma will also feel the pinch, as economies are set to boom.
He added that the islands’ constant development and redevelopment show how The Bahamas has its hands tied behind its back, when it comes to policing. With recent developments taking place on a number of Family Islands, Supt Dames said, the force has found itself having to duplicate and replicate a lot of what they are doing in New Providence throughout The Bahamas, in a bid to fight its crime war.
As The Bahamas is an archipelagic nation, with islands scattered throughout the sea, officers find themselves in a “unique position” when trying to keep The Bahamas safe, said Supt Dames.
“We are in a very unique position,” he added. “Policing this nation of ours is not an easy task. The Bahamas is an archipelago that stretches over some thousand square miles of sea. This is a very unique country to police. If a matter takes place in the south, like in Inagua and the officers there are in need of assistance, you’re going to have to get officers from New Providence or some closer island to that point. And in order to get them from one point to the next, you need resources.” For this reason, Supt Dames said as The Bahamas develops, the force has to plan ahead and wisely use the resources they have available now, to ensure that all of the islands are properly secured. “As resources go up and other forms of industry throughout the country go up, we have to find means to place police officers on those islands, to ensure that those resources and other forms of industries are protected,” he said. “So, it is a significant task for us in law enforcement and it is a significant task for us as a country, to make good use of the resources that we have at our disposal. I’m talking collectively. I mean manpower; vehicles and other resources officers need to fight crime. But we’ve been looking at that and we’ve been planning accordingly.”
By: IANTHIA SMITH, The Nassau Guardian
