The Tribune

By DANA SMITH

dsmith@tribunemedia.net

POLICE officers will take to the "front lines" in the fight against crime with yesterday's official launch of nine urban renewal centres across New Providence.

Police Commissioner Ellison Greenslade announced the newly improved and more "aggressive" revitalisation of the 2002 programme at the Paul Farquharson Centre in Police Headquarters where he said it's set to take off under the leadership of Superintendent Stephen Dean and Superintendent Carolyn Bowe.

Describing the programme, he said: "The flagship Urban Renewal 2.0 programme is a direct response to past and current problems facing a number of inner city communities in The Bahamas such as crime, poor housing conditions, joblessness, illiteracy, homelessness, and other social ills that contribute to crime and anti-social behaviour."

Dubbing it the "most ambitious crime prevention programme" in the country, Mr Greenslade pledged the full support of every Royal Bahamas Police Force member in the programme and said all the officers involved boast an "extended scope of police work."

He also noted aspects of Urban Renewal 2.0 are included in his Policing Plan 2012, namely the Urban Renewal Community Based Policing Programme.

"It is a comprehensive approach to crime, anti-social behaviour, and community safety," he said.

"It emphasises both innovation and integration of efforts and resources by a wide range of agencies and the community at large."

Addressing the officers present at the launch, Mr Greenslade stated: "This can't be anymore about pretty speeches and rhetoric, it has to be about execution of the mandate. That we get out there and we do the work.

"That's going to be very difficult for many of our colleagues - we're going to have to get accustomed to the fact that police work is done on the streets, not in offices.

"Do we appreciate the work done in offices? Absolutely. Is it important work? Absolutely. But it cannot be more important than saving lives on the front lines and so I will, in the next few days, look at culling in all departments - all officers across the force, to ensure that sufficient manpower is accorded and allotted to front line duties."

Comparing Urban Renewal 2.0 to its 2002 predecessor, he explained a lot of "good work" was done the first time around, but they were "tried a bit as a law enforcement agency" by other Ministries because police were "very proactive and seemed to be taking the lead on everything."

"We're going to be a bit more cautious this time around.

"The same work being done except more facilitation so that everybody feels a part of the team. It's always hard work to get everyone on a team working synergistically, but that is going to be the approach," Mr Greenslade said.

"The components of the programme are going to be the same, certainly with some improvements and certainly far more aggressive given the state the country's in, in respect to crime. The approach will be far more aggressive, I can assure you, and you will see lots of resources being put into it."

Urban Renewal centres have been set up in Centreville, Nassau Village, Pinewood, Englerston, Fox Hill, Ft Charlotte, Bains and Grants Town, and St Cecilia constituencies as well as on Kemp Road.

Mr Greenslade added another centre will be set up in Freeport, Grand Bahama, in the near future.