The Tribune

By DANA SMITH dsmith@tribunemedia.net FEWER than 25 persons have been convicted and sentenced for murder out of the nearly 450 homicides that have taken place since the FNM took office, according to PLP deputy leader Philip "Brave" Davis. At a press conference yesterday afternoon, Mr Davis claimed the FNM is "utterly incapable" of sending murder cases to trial within a reasonable time period. "Since the FNM took office, 443 persons have been murdered. Murders have doubled under their watch - doubled," he said. "This government has secured fewer than 25 sentences for murder in nearly five years. This is a national emergency." Mr Davis pointed out there are as many as 305 persons out on bail for murder right now. He also accused the government of failing to protect Bahamians by dismantling PLP programmes targeted at expediting convictions and reducing crime. South Beach PLP candidate, Cleola Hamilton, who also spoke yesterday, stated even she and her family have been victims of an attack by accused men out on bail. They came to her house and "put a gun in (her) face," she said. "I am at the moment now where I fear for my life because they are out on bail, again. "I don't know when they are going to come and gun me down in my driveway, so this is very close to my heart. I feel that no Bahamian should be going through what I am going through right now - none." Swift Justice, Urban Renewal, School Policing, and Witness Protection will all be re-implemented by the PLP should they take office this coming election. Dr Davis claimed these programmes were ended by the FNM solely because they were organised under the PLP. "Under the PLP's Swift Justice initiative, for one year not one case was dropped from the judicial calendar for reasons within the control of the Attorney General's office. The Swift Justice Initiative proved that murder trials could be held within 12 months - and when murder trials are held within 12 months, there is no bail," he said. "It is my view that had the government, once elected, continued the Swift Justice Initiative as was implemented by the PLP, the number 25 would be much, much higher." Operation Cease Fire is a new programme that the PLP plans to implement. It will focus on repeat offenders, saturation patrols in high crime areas, and "direct intervention in the cycle of revenge killings with new outreach workers trained in conflict mediation." The FNM ignored crime during their tenure in office and "scrambled to throw together some legislation" before the upcoming election, Mr Davis said. "They were worried about politics, not because they suddenly cared. The measures they offered last year were much too little, much too late." Their campaign thus far has been a "parade of self-congratulation. "They are slapping themselves on the back when it's a slap in the face to the thousands of Bahamians affected by crime and violent crime."