The Tribune

By DANA SMITH

Tribune Staff Reporter

dsmith@tribunemedia.net

FORMER Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Security Cynthia “Mother” Pratt has voiced her support for the government’s new crime fighting initiatives which include 12-hour shifts for police and Defence Force officers.

She gave the government credit for “trying” in the fight against the country’s persistent crime rate. And, in the face of questions over the ability of Defence Force officers to aid police, Mrs Pratt noted a time where she was criticised for placing officers on the street who “might not have been trained like the ordinary officer” but their presence helped curb crime.

“We as a people, we are quick to say, ‘Nothing is happening; all we see is crime’; and then when an initiative is taking place where they are trying to do what they can to curb it, then we find the criticism coming in – ‘Is it going to work?’ Well, we don’t know if it’s going to work but we know that we must try something, to try and cause it to work, because all of us want to feel safe in our country,” Mrs Pratt said.

“When you are sitting in National Security’s seat, you have to take chances sometimes and hope that it works because you want to do anything to curb the crime and make it safe for the Bahamian people. And so, I take my hat off to whatever the government is doing to try. If they weren’t trying then that would be another criticism – ‘They’re not even trying’.

“Now they’re trying and we come and say ‘We wonder if it’s going to work’, well how do we know if it’s going to work if we don’t try and see what happens afterwards.”

Pointing to her tenure as National Security Minister, Mrs Pratt recalled how she was criticised for a crime initiative which involved deploying Tourism Police who weren’t necessarily “trained like the ordinary officer.”

“I was criticised severely that these officers weren’t trained policemen,” Mrs Pratt said. “No, they might not have been trained like the ordinary officer, but you know what, they were eyes and they were hands and their presence were keeping the crime down from our tourists being attacked.

“I had, of course, the local constables on the streets, in our schools – ‘Oh these weren’t trained officers and what are they doing in the schools?’ but they were curbing the crime. They were eyes and ears and hands and feet.

“Once they saw them, there was respect shown and order was put in place. That’s why I’m saying you have to try some measures and hope that they will work. Sometimes simple things work.”