Our Bahamaland is in peril. Criminals continue to wreak havoc on every sector of our society terrorizing victims regardless of who they are or the positions they hold. Last year’s homicide count is by far the highest in Bahamian history in one calendar year with one hundred and nineteen of them being classified as murders. The Fox Hill massacre frightened citizens all over this country into a new sense of reality and forced those in authority to focus renewed urgency behind this vexing problem that threatens to destabilize our country, financially and otherwise, if not reigned in.
The world knows what is going on in The Bahamas but many of us who have information are afraid to go to the police for fear of reprisal which is a very real threat nowadays. What is most disturbing in all of this is that the Government and the Police know who the perpetrators are but it seems as if they cannot limit the ability or authority of these villains in their reign of terror. It is no secret that majority of the culprits are repeat offenders and persons out on bail.
The Commissioner of Police has complained that his officers are locking these persons up but not long after they are incarcerated, they are released on bond. Senator Keith Bell, prior to his attaining the position of Minister of State for National Security, prophesied the collapse of the judicial system in this country and the reality of the matter is that that time has come as the courts continue to unwittingly unleash the chaos of prolific offenders on an already troubled Bahamas.
I watched Minister of State in the Ministry of Legal Affairs, the Hon. Damien Gomez, announce that the Government would consider revisiting the bail laws while the Attorney-General, the Hon. Allyson Maynard-Gibson, declared in that same report, that the granting of bail would remain the discretion of the judges. I think it is high time that the Government did what the people of The Bahamas desires of them. In this case, they need to change the laws with respect to persons on bail and remove the judges’ rights to certain discretions, and they need to enact laws designed to punish persons who are repeat offenders.
Considering that most of the crimes committed today are perpetrated by persons out on bond and those who have already been sentenced, I wrote to my Member of Parliament on December 21st, 2013, recommending that the Government of The Bahamas consider implementing a three-strikes law that would affect persons on bail and those convicted of criminal offenses in the following manner:
Firstly, anyone who is already on bail for a maximum of three matters should be held in custody until at least one of those matters is resolved. If someone is before the courts for a matter and then winds up before the courts for additional offenses it is a clear indication that that individual is intent on being a menace to civil society. The discretion of giving bail once a person is already on bail for two other outstanding matters should be taken away from magistrates and judges. Once one of those three matters is resolved, if the individual is not convicted, they should be allowed to apply for bail.
Secondly, when a person comes before courts already convicted for two matters and they are convicted for a third matter, an automatic five to seven year sentence should be tacked on to whatever punishment they receive as consequences for their being convicted a third time. The additional sentence may vary based on whether the offenses are major or minor but it should apply to all persons convicted of three criminal matters. Repeat convictions are clear indicators that these individuals do not intend to cease their lives of crime; however, society should not have to endure terror at their expense.
We can purchase all of the police cars in the world and increase our police force to a million strong and it would not help the situation if the perpetrator is consistently allowed freedom to offend. We could have saturation patrols to cover the entire Bahamas and the police could arrest every criminal on every street but as long as the courts have free reign to hand out bail willy-nilly the majority of habitual criminals will transgress the law. Urban Renewal could move from 2.0 to 9.0 and it would not effect change as long as the bail laws remain as lax as they are now. I have a close relative of mine who was on bail for seventeen cases all at one time. I have another family member who was sentenced to serve six (6) months at the Fox Hill Prison and three (3) weeks later he was out on bail. These incidents represent travesties of the justice system that should never occur.
No one wants to challenge the credibility or impugn the character of judges or accuse them of unscrupulous dealings. I will not either but I remind all that judges are human beings, too, subject to faults and failures like anyone else. We hear lots of stories about deal cutting involving judges, prosecutors, lawyers and suspects. The Bahamian electorate did not elect judges. We elected honourable men and women who we expect to look out for our interest which includes putting in place laws, policies and guidelines to guarantee maximum public safety. If it means that the Government must revisit and rewrite the Bail Act relieving judges of the authority of discretion in this regard, then do so.
I am told that Branville McCartney has suggested that the Government needs to consider implementing a curfew to address the crime situation. My question is how is that fair to law-abiding citizens? If anyone should be placed on curfew it should be all of the persons on bail and those persons with more than three convictions and the ankle bracelet monitoring system should be used to manage this process to guarantee that these persons are where they are supposed to between 6:00pm and 6:00am daily.
There should also be public pronouncements when persons are released on bail or released from prison after serving sentence. Unlike some senior Government officials, we are not provided with a security detail and many of us are not able or simply cannot afford to carry weapons to protect ourselves, and the reality of the matter is that we should not have to, but at the very least we, the people, should know who is in our community and be able to prevent ourselves from becoming unwary preys of unscrupulous activities.
Our country should not be forced to buckle to the pressure of miscreants who are intent on being a lawless threat to life and property. These perpetrators should not be allowed to roam free influencing others to pattern after them because our slack bail system gives the impression that there are no consequences for felonious behaviour. The laws have to be changed so that justice can have an advantage and the police, Urban Renewal and all other mechanisms designed to fight crime can work in tandem and serve their purpose. I approve of the adage: “Justice must not only be done but justice must be seen to be done.” The other saying is also true that justice delayed is justice denied.
Marvin R. Z. Gibson
