The Tribune

By CHESTER ROBARDS

Tribune Staff Reporter

crobards@tribunemedia.net

FORMER Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham lambasted Commissioner of Police Ellison Greenslade during a press conference yesterday for essentially flip-flopping on the issue of Urban Renewal’s effectiveness.

After officially tendering his resignation at the House of Assembly, Mr Ingraham, prompted by a question from the media, suggested that during his term in office Mr Greenslade had dismissed the effectiveness of the Progressive Liberal Party’s (PLP) Urban Renewal plan.

“He tells a story about wonderful things that is happening,” said Mr Ingraham. “These are not the stories he told me when I was in office, about Urban Renewal… these are not the same stories.”

He went so far as to brand Mr Greenslade’s comments about Urban Renewal “most inappropriate.”

Mr Ingraham insisted that under his administration the Royal Bahamas Police Force had everything it needed to tackle the problem of serious crime and enforce the rule of law in the country. However, he attacked Mr Greenslade for what he perceives as the commissioner’s new found acceptance for the new government’s primary crime fighting strategy – Urban Renewal 2.0.

“He had all the tools he needed to do the job,” said Mr Ingraham.

“There was never a request from the police that wasn’t honoured. In fact we gave the police more than they asked for and the police force is fully resourced today.”

Mr Greenslade said of the programme recently:

“We’ve always contended that if officers are immersed in communities when things happen, the response is quick and there’s a good chance we can wrap things up quickly and that is what you see happening.”

Under Mr Ingraham’s administration Urban Renewal officers were taken out of community offices and put back into police stations.

The PLP hit back at Mr Ingraham in a statement released yesterday afternoon, condemning his criticisim of the Commissioner of Police, a public servant.

“The former Prime Minister is also strongly chided for being ungracious in his attack on the Commissioner of Police, a diligent public servant, for expressing support for and confidence in the Urban Renewal 2.0, a programme he believes is having a positive impact in the fight against crime,” the statement said.

“There is an unwritten convention that politicians should never attack public servants because their role is to carry out government policy. Mr. Ingraham violated this ethos and the PLP roundly condemns him for this.”

Mr Ingraham later took a direct swing at Urban Renewal 2.0. He suggested the government is carrying out an unlawful act by clearing derelict, abandoned houses and properties in the inner city without first giving home and property owners due notice.

“Aren’t there laws that govern this?” he asked.

“You must give the occupier notice, you must give the owner notice, and they must have the opportunity to make representation.

“You cannot just go and do so (tear down a house). That’s what distinguishes a democracy from a totalitarian society,” he said.

He added, “The reality is there are laws and there are rules that you ought to abide by and the government ought to set the example.”

He also insisted that the public must be notified by police officials when a police officer is involved in shooting and killing a suspect.

“We have a high crime problem in society, but what we cannot do is permit policemen to act outside the law,” said Mr Ingraham.

“It cannot be that you shoot two armed robbers or crooks one night and you tell me nothing about it.”