The Tribune

By DANA SMITH

Tribune Staff Reporter

dsmith@tribunemedia.net

ORGANISED crime is posing “serious threat” to the country according to National Security Minister Bernard Nottage.

Speaking yesterday at the opening ceremony for the Royal Bahamas Police Force’s Anti-Gang Workshop, Dr Nottage said too many young Bahamians are viewing violence as “a way to make a statement”.

The four-day workshop is a partnership with the US Embassy that will see gang experts from the US and the Bahamas come together in an effort to combat gang violence across the country.

“Organised gang crime is posing a serious threat to citizens’ security in the Caribbean region and we here in the Bahamas are not immune to the impact of gang-related crimes,” Dr Nottage said.

“The gangs are well organised and sophisticated, and are involved in activities such as drug smuggling, human trafficking, gun smuggling and money laundering.”

Dubbing the country’s gang culture a “serious social impediment in our society,” the minister thanked the US Embassy for facilitating the workshop, which will focus on gang investigations training, he said.

“Today, as we have come to pool our ideas on ways to eliminate or control the proliferation of gang violence or gang-type violence in our communities, far too many of our young people see violence as a way to make a statement,” Dr Nottage said.

“They are not prepared to use methods of conflict resolution to defuse their differences with others. The number of persons either on remand or serving time in prison for acts of violence and other forms of criminality is far too high and we are obliged to find ways to rectify this situation.”

The workshop will “empower” its police participants to be more confident in carrying out their duties and seeking to make a difference in the country, the minister stated.

“We cannot afford to lose a generation to crime and the lawlessness that it produces. Similarly, we will not allow the future of this country to be shaped by those whose intention is to create fear, injury and pandemonium in the society,” he said.

“I call on all parents, family members and all right thinking citizens and residents of this nation to encourage our young people to choose the path of civility. Ensure that they are not crossing the line from law abiding citizens to budding criminals and wherever you see signs of gang type behaviour, move immediately to seek assistance from the various agencies of the community, before they too become victims of mindless violence.”

Dr Nottage also called on churches to “lend a helping hand” and declared schools must be “institutions of learning and not the battlefields for acts of violence.”

He said: “It is my desire that the outcome of this workshop will be a more vibrant approach to anti-gang violence and that we will all see a turnaround in the overall behaviour of those considered at risk.”

The minister also said the government is “intent” on reducing opportunities for young Bahamians to be drawn into gangs or other criminal groups and pointed to Urban Renewal 2.0 as a big help in this regard.

He also said School Policing is “working” and has the “full support and appreciation” of teachers, parents, the Teachers Union, and young people.