The Tribune

By NICO SCAVELLA

Tribune Staff Reporter

nscavella@tribunemedia.net

THE Free National Movement government plans to “examine” the necessity of having Royal Bahamas Defence Force officers continue to assist the Royal Bahamas Police Force in policing, National Security Minister Marvin Dames said yesterday.

Mr Dames, in an interview with reporters outside the Office of the Prime Minister ahead of a Cabinet meeting, said the government will seek to determine what the “appropriate” levels of staffing and resources should be for the police force, and once those needs are met, then “there would be no need for the defense force officers on the streets.”

To that end, Mr Dames also said it is “critical” to clearly establish the roles of all of the country’s law enforcement agencies to avoid the government’s anti-crime strategies giving the appearance of being “guesswork from here until the very end.”

Mr Dames also said the Hubert Minnis-led administration has “a lot of work to do” in removing the “tremendous amount of fear” of crime held by Bahamians throughout the country.

However, he said that as the new minister of national security, he is currently focused on gaining an “understanding as to where we are as a ministry” and the types of challenges it faces on a daily basis.

The collaboration between both law enforcement agencies was introduced by the former Christie administration in February, one of several crime fighting strategies including “lockdowns” and mobile police vans in response to a bloody spate of murders in less than a week.

Shortly after that announcement by former National Security Minister Dr Bernard Nottage, former Prime Minister Perry Christie said collaboration between the RBPF and the RBDF to combat crime was part of a shared vision of himself, Dr Nottage and Police Commissioner Ellison Greenslade.

However, the involvement of the RBDF in policing was called a “touchy” subject by Police Staff Association (PSA) Chairman Dwight Smith, who told The Tribune that it sends the message that police are failing.

“We have to examine that,” Mr Dames said when questioned by reporters yesterday morning. “We said very early, and it’s in our platform, that we have to look at the establishment of the organisation. Once we determine what the appropriate establishment level is, then we can work towards meeting that level. And if we do that, there would be no need for the defense force officers on the streets.

“It’s important that as we move forward that we spend the people’s money wisely. We have to make good decisions. We cannot be ad-hoc in the way we do our business, and that’s why it’s very critical that we establish very early, the establishment of the (RBPF) what it ought to be, the establishment of the (RBDF) and the prison, and every other agency.

“That’s extremely critical. Because if we don’t establish that, then it would mean that it would be guesswork from here until the very end, and that’s critical. What should be the numbers at, for example a Cable Beach division? What should be the numbers for any of the Family Islands? Human resources?

“This is extremely important. Because once we get to that point, then we know what we need, then we can adequately provide the policing resources necessary to safeguard and secure our communities.”

Mr Dames also said the government has “work to do” in the “business of reducing crime” and improving the efficiency of his ministry.

“There’s still a tremendous amount of fear in this country by Bahamians moving about,” he said. “We have an obligation as a government to reduce that level of fear. Serious crime in this country--in my mind is still extremely high. There are too many homicides, we have to reduce that. There are too many firearms on the streets. We have to reduce that.

“There’s a lot of work to do, and we can’t shy away from that. We can’t early into this administration walk in saying that all is well, because all isn’t well.”

He added: “I want to get an understanding as to where we are as a ministry. What are some of the challenges that we face currently? In order for us to get started on a good foot, we certainly want to know what it is that we have to do to improve on efficiency, to improve on accountability, and to manage the people’s resources effectively and efficiently.”