THE Royal Bahamas Police Force has started to take officers off the 12-hour work shift, introduced in September in an attempt to get crime under control, The Tribune understands.
Well placed police sources said detectives, officers of the Central Detective Unit (CDU) and the Drug Enforcement Unit (DEU) are no longer working the shifts, though their jobs often demand that they work irregular hours.
When asked whether the 12-hour system was being wound down, Commissioner Ellison Greenslade and Police Staff Association (PSA) chairman Dwight Smith declined to discuss the matter.
Mr Greenslade said: “I will not speak to anyone about our rotation system anymore and it was a mistake for me to ever divulge what our system is like or our rotation.
“As Bahamians are preparing to go into the holiday season I want to ensure that they are safe and whatever it takes to keep them safe is what I will do. But I can make one assurance to the Bahamian people and that is as they enter the Christmas Holiday and take to the streets to shop and enjoy merriment I will do whatever it takes to ensure that they are safe while they are out there.”
Following complaints from many officers about the extended hours they are required to work, particularly due to the lack of compensation they are receiving, talks on the matter are now taking place between the association and the Royal Bahamas Police Force.
And while he refused to say whether officers were being taken off the 12-hour shift, Mr Smith did confirm that the PSA is no longer considering taking legal action against the government at this time.
“I just came from the police headquarters after a meeting with the commissioner of police, which was good as always,” he said, declining to say if officers would be compensated for working the longer shifts.
He also said lawyer Wayne Munroe “is still looking at the legal ramifications of what has happened.”
He declined to comment on the physical and mental well-being of the officers and said he is awaiting the conclusion of Mr Munroe’s investigations before providing further comments.
Last month he said he was insulted that the government did not come to the table to discuss the concerns of the officers and that his Association would seek legal action if they didn’t hear from government officials.
Earlier this month he said the Association would hire a physician to examine officers. This, he said yesterday, has not yet taken place.
Expressing concern for the physical well being of the officers, PSA lawyer Wayne Munroe had previously said the RBPF might be liable for creating a dangerous system of work for officers.
Comments
proudloudandfnm 11 years, 1 month ago
Never actually thought 12 hour shifts had any significant impact on crime anyway. But I will say that the one time of year cops should be on extended shifts is Christmas. This government continues to confound me. Greenslade is fast becoming the most infamous COP of all time. Political dog doing tricks for his master...
CarreiL 11 years, 1 month ago
True!
getrightbahamas 11 years, 1 month ago
I hope crime hits you someday and you have to call the police for help or protection. then you will see how useless police are. Jackass!!
john33xyz 11 years, 1 month ago
Police officers would be more positive in their roles, and we would attract a higher caliber of officers if the pay was more substantial. I've spoken to a few officers over the years and the numbers they told me are nothing short of a disgrace - it cannot even be called a wage - much less something that someone with respect and care for anything can be expected to receive.
I call upon the Christian Council (as a demonstration of their love for their fellow man) to order all their member churches (and encourage non-members) to immediately begin donating 10% of whatever they get "in the plate" to the RBPF each week to aid in paying overtime salaries to officers.
In fact (since the above will be difficult to do with our Constitutional restriction via the Consolidated Fund) - it would be better if officers could just come to the CC Office and present their pay slip and the CC will give them x-amount per hour extra for all their overtime hours. That would keep it simple.
Come on Christian Council !!! Why not help out with crime today ?
ThisIsOurs 11 years, 1 month ago
12hr shifts would work if we had to tackle looting and mayhem in the streets. As it stands it's a solution to a problem that doesn't exist. It's a "busy work" initiative. With the murder count continuing to rise it must have become very hard for them to justify the sacrifice.
rony 11 years, 1 month ago
When will you people realize that it's not the police it's the messed up slack court system.
Sign in to comment
OpenID